Is This Real Enough for You?
by Cassidy Alice
Summary: It seemed hard to believe how far they had come and there was still a long way to go, but as long as they were together, anything seemed possible.
1. Prologue: Vertigo

_AN: As embarassing as it is to admit, this is the result of a deal I made with my little sister to get her to help me. I'm not too sure I can write a decent post-war story (and therefore I usually shy away from writing one), but this is my attempt at it anyway, so here goes nothing. The prologue is set during seasn three, but the other chapters will take place after the war. I hope it's okay (the title is actually the first line of the song Surrender, by Evanescence). Enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing :(_

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><p><strong>Prologue: Vertigo<strong>

_It shouldn't have ended like this._

In the darkness of the Fire Navy ship, Katara listens to the steady rhythm of Aang's ragged breathing. In the choppy waters of the sea, the stolen ship rolls like a toy, undulating like the waves around it. The ship is eerily silent save for the occasional sound of footsteps passing her door. Her _locked_ door. She knows it is pointless to lock the metal door because Toph can easily metalbend it open, but she keeps it locked all the same.

The room is dimly lit, but her eyes have adjusted well to the darkness. She hasn't seen sunlight in days and she doesn't want to. Her eyes only focus on Aang's pale body lying motionless in front of her. His bandages are stained dark red with fresh blood from his wound and it takes everything she has not to break down and cry. The smell of blood lingers thick and heavy in the air; she can almost taste it. It tastes like death. She shudders involuntarily.

Against her will, the memories play in her mind. Azula's evil smirk, everyone's shocked expressions, Aang's lifeless body falling to the ground. The images are burned in her mind, like ink stains on paper. She closes her eyes and wills the memories to fade away. When she opens her eyes, it is noticeably quieter but she doesn't move. She can't bring herself to check his heartbeat, so she checks hers instead. The steady rhythm of her heart pounding in her chest tells her she is very much alive. But gazing at the wounded boy in front of her, she silently vows that she will fade with him if he dies.

Outside the confines of her room, the ship creaks, groaning as if it is the wounded boy in front of her. Footsteps shuffle and she can see shadows lurking outside her door. _Brother. Father. Friends_. The names don't even register. She just sits silently beside him, her eyes locked on the door and her water skin ready. If they force open the door, she will not hesitate to make them leave, but they shuffle past her room in a few minutes and she doesn't bother with them anymore. All her attention returns to Aang.

She can tell he is dreaming again, because something like a content sigh escapes his lips. His mouth is turned up in a soft smile and she breaks. The tears come easily and she wipes them away vigorously, with her bloodstained hands. How can he possibly have such good dreams and smile when he is on the brink of death? Her vision is blurred as the tears come faster and she falls into herself, burying her face in her hands as sobs rack her entire frame. Her mind is blank, empty and she's not sure if her heart is still beating, if she is still alive at this point. She's feeling too much pain and anguish to be alive. Surely the pain ends, right?

When all her tears are spent, she focuses on healing Aang. She's lost count of how many times she's tried to stop the crimson blood from pouring out of him, of how many times she has undone and redone the bandages wrapped all over him. When she is finally done, she leans against the cold metal wall of her room and watches her friend. He still doesn't stir. And just when she thinks she couldn't possibly have anymore tears left to cry, they escape and cascade down her face, leaving trails in their wake. So, she cries softly for herself, for the boy lying motionless in front of her, and for all the mistakes she made in not protecting him, until she slips into unconsciousness from over exhaustion and fatigue, her hands curled tightly around Aang's.

When she wakes, she is in her bed, tucked under a thin blanket. Her room is lit by a single candle and the orange flame flickers as the ship moves through the turbulent waters. Her eyes take some time to adjust to the darkness, but once she is able to focus she realizes Aang is no longer there. Only a few bloodstains on her floor indicate that he ever was. Ignoring the spinning sensation in her head and her body screaming for rest, she gingerly gets out of bed and makes her way to the door, but she is stopped by the sight of her reflection in the mirror. She turns and gazes at the thin, wiry reflection staring back at her. There are dark circles under her eyes and she looks incredibly pale. Her hair is a mess and her dress, covered in dirt and bloodstains, is torn in various places. She look tired and worn; her eyes no longer sparkle and her face is set in a perpetual expression of sadness that she wonders if she can ever smile again. Her reflection gazes back at her and all she can see is a hollow, broken, terrified girl, so afraid yet still strong. And casting one last glance at her reflection, Katara walks out her door.

It takes her several minutes to find Aang's room. Several minutes which pass in an agony of wondering whether he is alright or whether the strain of recent events is too much for him and he has faded despite her attempts to heal him. But at last, she finds his room and falls in a heap next to him, breathing a sigh of relief upon finding that he is still alive. His room is considerably lighter than her and the Fire Nation emblem plastered on the wall glares at them as she sits beside him, listening to his breathing. It has become her lullaby, her reassurance that he is still alive. Listening to him breathe, she thinks there is no sweeter sound in the world at the moment.

The room is eerily silent, save for his breathing and the creaking of the ship. In the silence, Katara dares to speak. For the first time in a long time, she opens her mouth and gently whispers his name. She gets no response (was she even expecting one?) and falls silent again.

_Can I tell you?_ Her heart screams, banging painfully in her chest. She feels like she is suffocating all of a sudden. _I'm in love with you. Please, don't go. I love you, Aang._

She opens her mouth to whisper the words to him, but she finds she can't, so she settles for something else. She promises to tell him the truth when (not _if_) he gets better.

"When you get better, Aang," she whispers. "I'll tell you the truth. I promise."

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><p>Weeks later, when they are on Ember Island, she finds herself staring at her reflection in a mirror again. This time, she looks reasonably better, but she's still not smiling and she's far from happy. As she gazes at her reflection, she can only think of one thing.<p>

_Hypocrite! _She silently curses herself. The memories of the intermission during the play are still fresh in her mind. She had promised herself and Aang on that dark, dreary day aboard the Fire Navy ship that she would somehow tell him the truth that perhaps she cared about him in a… romantic way. But her chance had come and gone and she had messed it up.

"What was I thinking?"

The sound of her own voice echoing across the silence makes her jump. She sounds pitiful. She sighs. She finds they really bother her, those three harsh uncertainties she had uttered to him, with Yue as her witness. _I don't know_. She laughs, harshly.

"Like that wasn't a lie." She mutters to herself. She didn't know what had happened. Maybe his confession had just shocked her; she hadn't expected him to feel the same way so maybe that was what had made her blurt out those words. Or perhaps it had been the full moon. Spirits knew what the full moon did to her; ever since learning bloodbending, the full moon had made her uneasy. Perhaps that, combined with Aang's sudden confession, was what had prompted her to say those words.

She sighs again and looks out of her window, towards the sea where waves are pounding the windswept beach. And vaguely, she wonders if she will ever have the courage to tell Aang the three seemingly simple words her heart is screaming.

_I love you._

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><p><em>So, how was it? I actually had fun writing this. It was interesting, to say the least. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. :)<em>

_~Cassidy Alice_


	2. The Adventure Begins

_I've been such a bad author. I had this ready a while ago, but I never posted it. Sorry for the wait. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter I: The Adventure Begins<strong>

_I am not watching._

Katara repeated the four words to herself over and over again. But the simple truth was that she was indeed watching. She was watching and disapproving. Somehow, disapproving didn't seem like the right word. Annoyed seemed to work better. Angry, irritated, flustered. To put it simply, she was in a foul mood and the cause of her bad mood was standing several feet away, surrounded by a multitude of giggling girls that vaguely reminded her of the penguin colonies huddled together for warmth in the South Pole. She wouldn't admit it when Toph and Sokka made fun of her, but she had no problem admitting it to herself. If those girls didn't leave in five minutes, she'd make them leave, one way or another.

A high pitched squeal broke Katara from her train of thoughts and she looked up just in time to see Momo attacked by a horde of little children, their hands filled with food. The winged lemur looked pleased as the children laid out treat after treat and Katara couldn't help but smile, in spite of her bad mood. The furry creature looked like he was enjoying himself, the way he was being stuffed with food. Momo let out a happy chirp and continued to gorge himself on pastries and sweetmeats.

Katara gently ran a hand through her hair, careful not to upset the flowers that one of the palace maids had woven into her hair. As much as she enjoyed being given the royal treatment while staying with Zuko and Mai at the Fire Nation, she could see why Mai complained about it. It really seemed like she wasn't allowed to do anything without an escort or a maid to do it for her.

Like coming to this ball, she thought, eyeing the young maid who had been instructed to be with her at all times. She had asked Mai how to get rid of her but Mai simply said it was protocol and she would have to live with it for a few hours. When Katara suggested that the girl should join in on the festivities, the poor thing had looked mortified and so Katara kept her mouth shut lest she mortally offended the girl. So she took to watching people instead. From where she was seated, she could make out Sokka and Suki having an animated discussion, probably about the lack of variety in Fire Nation foods as it was one of Sokka's favorite topics. Much to her surprise, a couple of young men were trying to persuade a sour looking Toph to dance, something Katara knew would never happen. The maid who had been assigned to Katara was standing in a corner and chatting with a little girl about the hardships and rewards of her job, but she came over in a few minutes when she noticed the waterbender was sitting all alone.

"Would you like to dance?" She offered. "I'm sure one of those handsome, young men would be more than happy to dance with you."

"I'd rather not," the waterbender replied, getting up and walking out into the sparsely populated courtyard.

"Then, would you care to play Pai Sho with those young men, miss?" she wondered, trailing behind Katara.

"Do you have to keep following me around?" she replied, dully.

"Protocol, Miss Katara. I have to."

"Why don't you go dance or something? I won't tell anyone if you do."

"Oh, I couldn't," the girl said, her eyes widening in fear. "I'd be punished for sure."

Katara just sat down and slowly began pulling the flowers out of her hair. The maid didn't even wait to be told, but rushed to her side and began helping her. It took her a good hour to slowly extract the woven blossoms because, unlike Katara, she was trying her hardest not to undo her elegantly styled hair. By the time she was done, there was a heap of colored petals on the floor and several dozen hairpins. The maid just scooped them all up and muttering something about taking care of the mess, vanished around a corner. As soon as she was out of sight, Katara removed her fancy, highly uncomfortable shoes and all the jewelry the maid had given her and made her way to the nearest exit. But she stopped when she noticed a portly gentleman in his mid fifties in a heated argument with Sokka.

The gentleman was clearly an aristocrat. Judging by all the rings he wore, he must have been one of the richest ones because all but two of his fat fingers were adorned with fine jewels. His outfit was also made of some of the finest and heaviest silk and he stood erect, cane in hand, with his chest puffed out as if he was none other than a royal himself. His beady eyes were fixed on Sokka, who seemed to be upset over some matter Katara couldn't quite hear. But as she got nearer, it was evident what the problem was.

"Show some respect, boy," the gentleman barked. "When someone asks for a drink, you say yes sir and pour one for them."

"Perhaps if you asked nicer I might have," Sokka replied, coolly. "But you've got two hands, sir, so you can pour your drink yourself." He made a move to go, but the man blocked his path with his cane.

"In my day, boys never spoke like that to their elders. Go on, scum, get me my drink."

"I'm not your personal attendant," Sokka replied, evenly. "I happen to be a close friend of the Firelord and he's expecting me. So if you don't mind, I'll…"

"Stop telling lies, scum, and just get me my drink. Is it really that hard?"

"Leave him alone," Katara said, entering the discussion. "He's telling the truth; the Firelord is waiting to see him."

"Stay out of this, wench," the man spluttered, swinging out his cane so that Katara was thrown back onto the grass when the object collided with her. She had half a mind to take the cane and use it to knock some sense into the man, but Sokka was faster. He seized the cane and tossed it aside.

"That's my sister," he said. "And if you know what's good for you, you won't do that again.

"The nerve," the gentleman exclaimed, walking away seething.

"That could have gone better," Sokka muttered, as he helped Katara up.

"What was that all about?"

"Stupid guy thought I was a servant," Sokka replied. "Seriously, why do all these aristocrats keep mistaking us for servants? Don't they know we're not peasants?"

"Eh, you get used to it after a while," Katara said, watching the older man weave his way through the crowd. "It's…"

She was cut off by three little children running past them, knocking Sokka into the nearby fountain and Katara into Suki, who fell headfirst into the carefully crafted and baked pie in the shape of the Fire Nation. Naturally, when the maid saw Katara sprawled on the ground, Suki covered in pie (with Momo eating chunks from her dress) and a thoroughly wet Sokka, she was close to tears because her rather empty night was now suddenly filled with chores to do.

"Please stand still, Miss Katara," she pleaded once the celebration had ended and they were back in Katara's quarters. "I'll never be able to fix this dress if you keep squirming like that."

"It's past midnight," the waterbender replied, yawning. "Can't you fix it tomorrow?"

"No."

"Fine," Katara sighed. "Then I'll fix it. It's only a small tear in the hem."

"You wouldn't," the maid gasped.

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"It's completely against the rules," the girl said, threading her needle before inserting it into the hem. "I…"

"Ow," Katara cried, as the needle poked her. The maid flinched and opened her mouth to apologize, but Katara cut her off before she could.

"Why don't you just come back tomorrow?" She suggested, taking the needle from her. "We're both tired and I'd like to get some sleep instead of being poked."

"But…"

"Don't you ever get tired of doing this?" the waterbender wondered. "You must hate serving me. I'm not rich or royal."

The maid smiled. "I don't mind."

"But people call me a peasant. Doesn't it bother you, having to serve me?"

The maid shrugged. "Not really."

Katara sighed. "If you say so."

The two lapsed into silence after that.

"What's he like, Miss Katara," the maid asked after a while.

"Who?" she asked, blankly.

"The Avatar." The maid said the words so softly, Katara had to strain to catch it.

She smiled. "You could always talk to him, you know. Aang's not going to bite."

The maid chuckled. "Miss Katara, you'll get me in trouble one of these days. I could lose my job for talking to the Avatar."

Katara rolled her eyes, thinking of all the stupid rules these maids had to follow.

"So, is it true then? You're with the Avatar?" The maid wondered gazing at the necklace Katara wore.

Katara fingered the handmade necklace Aang had given her and was suddenly thankful the dim lighting hid the telltale blush on her face. She didn't know if that was the appropriate phrase or if the maid had the right idea, but she nodded.

"I guess so," she said, softly. She had, after all, kissed him, that day on the balcony of the Jasmine Dragon. More importantly, he'd kissed her back and they'd been almost inseparable since then (not that they hadn't been inseparable before).

The maid sighed, dreamily. "You're the luckiest girl in the world, Miss Katara, if you don't mind my saying so."

Katara rolled her eyes again. "I don't mind you saying anything except Miss Katara. Just Katara is fine."

"But…"

"If you're my maid, aren't you supposed to listen to me?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Then I forbid you to call me Miss Katara."

The maid looked mortified. "You can't," she stammered. "I could…"

"If you call me Miss Katara, I'll find more work for you to do," Katara replied, defiantly.

"I'll do it," the maid said, simply. "I don't mind."

Katara groaned. "I don't want to do this, but if you call me Miss Katara again, you'll be frozen in a block of ice."

"Oh alright," the maid sighed in defeat. "I won't call you Miss Katara. But if you find a new servant here in the morning, don't say I didn't warn you. Why don't you like being treated like this? You're the daughter of the Southern Water Tribe Chief."

"I know, but I had to work too. I cooked, sewed, cleaned; I'm just not used to standing still and letting people do things for me. I have my own hands, you know."

"But protocol."

"What do I care about protocol?" the waterbender demanded. "I'm tired of sitting still for hours at social gatherings and dancing ten different dances in shoes that make my feet bleed or wearing dresses I can't breathe in or posing for some ridiculous portrait."

"But it's an honor to have your portrait taken."

"An honor? You think anyone would have bothered with me or my brother if we didn't know Aang or Zuko?"

"Well…"

"Or if Aang hadn't been the Avatar and Zuko hadn't been the Firelord, would anyone bothered with their portraits."

"I guess not," the maid replied, smiling and yawning.

"It's getting late," Katara said, glancing out the window. The moon was already high in the sky. "We'd better go to sleep."

The maid nodded and got up, making a move to take the needle and thread from Katara.

"I'll keep them," the waterbender said, smiling. "I won't have anything to do tomorrow, anyway."

"You mean, you haven't heard the news?"

"What news?"

"Well, I heard from another maid that the Firelord was going somewhere with his friends. I thought perhaps you knew."

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "Zuko forgot to mention that. I'll have to remember to talk to him about that."

The maid just smiled. "Something tells me you're about to have the adventure of a lifetime, Katara."

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><p>It was late by the time Aang had managed to free himself from a boring conversation with some young girl working in the palace and had wondered off in search of Katara. Much to his disappointment, he hadn't spent much time with her that evening, and she hadn't looked very happy when she'd seen him with that horde of girls. He didn't think his latest news would cheer her up much either, but he decided to find her and tell her anyway. By the time he had reached her room, however, the waterbender was fast asleep, a serene smile gracing her features as her hands curled around the necklace he had given her. And the airbender returned to his room with the knowledge that perhaps, the waterbender wasn't as upset as he thought she was.<p>

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><p>Two hooded figures, one tall and one average height, stole through the darkened streets of the Fire Nation capital, running through the shadows until they arrived at a secluded beach.<p>

"Are you sure that's the one, Zhu?"

"Positive. You can tell by the insignia it's part of Firelord Zuko's royal fleet of airships."

"Is that the one he's taking tomorrow?"

"I believe so. Why, what's wrong?"

"I need to get on that airship."

"Get on? You must be crazy."

"You don't understand. I need something that's on that airship."

"What could you possibly need that's on that airship?"

"I'll tell you if I find it. Now, are you going to help me or not?"

"Yuan, you're my best friend, but I don't think I want to help you with this crazy plan."

"Fine. I'll do it by myself."

"But…"

"Or, I have an even better idea. I'll call the rest of the gang to help."

"Yuan…"

But the young firebender had already walked away.

"So boys," Yuan wondered, later that night as he sat in the tavern with his seven comrades huddled around the small table. "Will you help me?"

"You say this will make us rich?" one asked.

Yuan nodded, running a hand through his tawny mop of hair.

They all exchanged glances before grinning.

"We're in."

"Excellent. Zhu refuses to help me, so we'll have to do this without him," Yuan said, his amber eyes blazing with determination. His comrades nodded and he smiled.

"We can have everything ready before the Firelord leaves," Yuan's friends promised. "The Firelord will never even suspect a thing."

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><p><em>Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten so far. :)<em>

_~ Cassidy Alice_


	3. Of Bug Bites and Illnesses

_I was finally able to post this after rewriting it at least half a dozen times. I hope it's alright. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter II: Of Bug Bites and Illnesses<strong>

Zuko knew Katara had a temper and he knew very well how easy it was to get her worked up, but nothing could have prepared him for her reaction once they had embarked on their journey. It wasn't a particularly long trip to their destination, but Zuko suddenly felt like it was too long because the waterbender wasn't pleased once she found out their destination and promised him if he ever roped her into something like that again, he'd be slowly defrosting himself from being frozen to the ceiling. And he could tell she meant it too, though in all fairness, he couldn't blame her. The village they were headed to probably didn't hold too many good memories for her.

The airship was surprisingly nice, considering all the effort Ozai had put into making it. Zuko never imagined he'd have any use for his father's fleet of airships and war balloons, but he found they were quite useful as they gave Appa a chance to rest. Luckily, Suki and Sokka knew a thing or two about how the contraptions worked (though how, Zuko couldn't say) and managed to pilot the giant aircraft about. Unfortunately for Zuko, this forced him to explain himself to a still seething Katara with a highly amused Mai watching the entire discussion.

About a week ago, Iroh had been travelling through the Fire Nation when an incident, the details of which were still unclear, forced him to stop in a rather small village. The night of the celebration, Zuko had received a letter saying that Iroh wouldn't return for a month, as he was recovering from an injury. The village had no healers, so the General had been forced to spend his time there while he recovered. The Firelord's first thought had been to ask Katara to help his uncle, and in all honesty, he didn't think she'd refuse. Sokka had even agreed with him and said it was a good idea, until Zuko revealed the location. Sokka had admitted that getting Katara to come would probably require forcibly dragging her aboard the airship if they told her where they would be headed. As an alternative, he suggested telling his sister after they were in the sky and thus, when Katara found out she wasn't too happy. So, as Suki piloted the airship, Sokka and Zuko tried to reason with Katara.

"You wouldn't have come if we told you," Sokka said. "I know you well enough to know that."

"So forcing me to come was a better option?" she demanded.

"Admittedly, yes," her brother replied. "If I told you we were returning to Hama's village, you'd have automatically put your foot down and said you're not coming even before I told you why."

"You could have at least told me why," she replied. "Instead of being so secretive. I don't like being forced into things."

"No one does," Zuko said. "But if I told you the reason why, you'd have found out and then said no."

"I'd have asked what was wrong with your uncle and then given you my opinion and let you help him," she replied, frowning.

"Katara, Iroh needs a healer, not for you to tell Zuko what to do," Sokka cried. "Besides, Zuko's pretty stupid sometimes; he'd probably just screw up."

The Firelord shot Sokka a nasty glare and Toph snickered.

"So, are you going to help or not?" Sokka wondered.

"It's not like I can go back, can I?" Katara replied, dully.

They reached Hama's village as the sun was setting and walked to her old inn. Katara wasn't too pleased they were staying there, but since no one in the village could house seven extra guests, the old inn was the only place available. Surprisingly, it wasn't in ruins. The inside was generally clean save for a few cobwebs hanging here and there, but Katara still didn't feel very comfortable spending the week there. The only thing that made it bearable was that she and Aang would be sharing a room.

"This is some room," she muttered, as she and the airbender surveyed their quarters. While the rest of the house seemed to be clean, their room certainly wasn't. The beds were covered in dust, the sheets looked like they hadn't been changed since Hama had been locked up, and Katara could have sworn that she saw bugs crawling all over the floor. She shuddered. She didn't know about Aang, but she wasn't sleeping on either of the two beds in their room. By the time night had fallen though, she was so tired, that she'd have slept on the floor if Aang hadn't managed to clean one bed and had given to her to use.

"Where will you sleep?" Katara asked, gazing at the bed that wasn't big enough for them to share.

"The floor," he replied. "I don't mind and I'm used to it anyway."

"But…"

"You'd just be uncomfortable sleeping on the floor," he laughed.

"Oh, alright," Katara said, smiling. "Goodnight."

Aang had to admit, even for him, it wasn't the most comfortable floor to sleep on, but he managed to get some sleep until a cry from Katara woke him up in the middle of the night.

"Katara?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Something bit me," she said, eyeing the bed warily.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, but I don't think I can get to sleep with bugs crawling all over me," she said, flicking one off her arm. "Mind if I join you?"

"No," the airbender replied, stifling a yawn. "But I'm warning you, it's not very comfortable here either."

Katara just sat beside him and yawned. "It doesn't matter. I'm so tired, it doesn't make a difference."

That, however, was where she was wrong. The floor, though somewhat uncomfortable, would have been suitable if it also wasn't crawling with bugs. Grimacing, Aang and Katara made a beeline for the door, racing out the room.

"Now what?" Katara whispered. There were plenty of other rooms to use, but most of them were locked. Sokka had used the key to open enough rooms for them to use, but Katara had no idea what he had done with it. So they settled on something else, giving everyone quite the surprise when they found the Avatar and the waterbender asleep on the kitchen table the following morning.

"That looks really uncomfortable," Sokka said, eyeing his sister's position. Katara fell of her chair in fright.

"Was that really necessary, Sokka?" She snapped.

"Sorry," he apologized. "But what are you guys doing here?"

"Our room was full of bugs," Aang said, squinting in the bright light that filtered in to the room. "They were everywhere."

"Not in our room," Suki said. "Although there was something on Sokka's bed."

Katara yawned again.

"Are you going to see Iroh today?" Suki asked.

"I guess so. I mean, it makes no sense to wait to heal him, right?"

"You think he'll send us a pot of his tea?" Sokka mused. "I always liked his tea."

"Sokka," Suki groaned. "Can't you take your mind off of food for just a little while?"

"No," he teased. "I absolutely cannot."

It was almost noon when Katara set off to see Iroh. The sun was partially hidden behind clouds and a humid breeze was blowing. Ignoring her drowsiness, Katara walked as fast as her tired self would allow and arrived at the infirmary in no time. It was a rather large stone building with half a dozen rooms and several nurses, but as she had been told, there weren't any healers.

She had no trouble finding Iroh; the nurses were more than happy to have her help and before she knew it, she was sitting with the former General and chatting with him. A good hour or so must have passed before she actually started healing his broken leg and sprained arm.

"You weren't doing anything dangerous, were you?" she asked, inspecting his broken leg. "Your leg is pretty bad."

Iroh chuckled. "I've had worse. So, can you heal it?"

"Most of it," she replied. "But I can only heal so much. You'll have to stay off it and let the rest heal on its own."

"Of course, Doctor."

Katara smiled and began healing. Fifteen minutes later, Iroh's leg was feeling a lot better and was freshly bandaged.

"Thank you, Katara. I know it wasn't easy for you to come back here."

She gave him a tired smile. "It wasn't much."

"Zuko told me that something bad happened here when you first came. I trust everything is better now?"

"No."

"No? You mean…"

"The last time I came here, I learned a…secret I'd have rather not known."

"I see. And this _secret _has to do with…?"

"Someone from my tribe. She taught me something I didn't know."

"That's hardly a reason to hate this place. It's always good to expand your knowledge."

Katara gave him a sad smile. "I think if you knew what I'd learned, you'd think differently of me, General Iroh."

"Would I?" He laughed. "You'd be surprised, Katara."

She shrugged. "Maybe someday I'll tell you, but for now, I think it'd be better if you didn't know."

By the time she returned home, she was exhausted and sleepy to boot. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in a nice soft bed and close her eyes, but she was far too tired to search for the key for the locked rooms and fell asleep in the common room. She didn't know how long she had slept, but when she woke up, she was surprised to find herself on a comfortable bed, in an insect free room, glowing with the light of the setting sun. Despite how comfortable the bed was, she discovered that her whole body ached and her head was throbbing. Honestly, she felt like she had fallen from the heavens, been dunked in a volcano, and trampled by a horde of stampeding sky bison. In spite of the hot Fire Nation summer, she was shivering too.

"Hey, Katara, you're finally up," Sokka said, entering the room. "You okay? You were really knocked out."

"Just tired," she replied. "Aang and I barely got any sleep last night thanks to those stupid bugs."

"You don't look too good," Sokka admitted, noticing she was pale. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Fine," she lied.

"You're a terrible liar, you know that?"

"I'll be fine once I get up, Sokka."

"Get up? You're crazy. You're staying in bed."

"But someone has to make dinner and..."

"Let Suki worry about that," Sokka said. "And if you think it's unfair, you can make it up to her after you get better."

"But, Sokka…"

"No way are you leaving this room, Katara. Look, I know you're used to doing things on your own, regardless of how you feel, but pushing yourself like this can't be good for you."

"You know, I hate it when you're right," Katara scowled, flopping back down.

Sokka just smiled. "I know. You should get some rest. In the meantime, I'll ask Suki about some medicine."

"Thanks, Sokka," she murmured before drifting off to sleep again. Sokka set off for the kitchen, only to find that Suki had left the house to run to the market, leaving Aang to wash a sink full of dishes.

"You look thoughtful," the airbender said when Sokka sat down at the kitchen table.

"Yeah. I was just trying to remember Gran Gran's recipe for her healing tonic."

"You don't look sick, though." The airbender said.

"Not for me, for Katara."

"Katara? What's wrong with Katara?"

"I don't know. She must've caught a bug or something. She hasn't left her room since this afternoon. Do you know any remedies?"

"Yeah, but unless we can fly to the Southern Air Temple and back, I can't make any," Aang said. "Doesn't Suki know how to make a tea?"

"Yeah, but she's not back yet and…" The words died in Sokka's mouth because at that moment, the Kyoshi warrior entered the house with a bag full of groceries. Sokka wasted no time in enlisting Suki's help and in ten minutes, hurried upstairs with the tea and Aang in tow.

The room was dark, but even after it had been lit, Katara didn't stir and Sokka thought it was odd because she was usually a light sleeper.

"You think she picked up a virus or something?"

"No," Aang said, gently placing his hand on her forehead. "It's just a fever. She'll be fine. She must have gotten in from one of those bugs that bit her or something."

"If you say so," Sokka said. "Just do me a favor and keep an eye on her. She'll never listen to me if I tell her not to do anything. You, on the other hand…"

Aang just rolled his eyes, but he was grinning.

It took them a good five minutes to wake Katara up but both Sokka and Aang were relieved when she was finally up. Getting her to drink Suki's herbal tea, though, was a lot harder. It was bitter, smelled odd, and when she drank it, it made her cry and gag. Still, somehow she managed to drink the tea and suddenly Sokka was very grateful that he didn't have to drink that tea, but also a little nervous about how many times his girlfriend would make it for him in the future.

Getting Katara to eat her dinner was also another problem. She rather preferred sleeping than eating, but Aang realized that she hadn't eaten anything all day and he didn't have to be a healer to know that it wasn't good for her. So, he kept persuading her to eat.

"Katara, if you're not going to eat, I'll feed you," the airbender threatened. The idea, though amusing, was hardly something Aang wanted to put into action; he didn't like the idea of forcing her to do something. Katara, however, was too tired to care.

"I don't want to eat," she said, closing her eyes and curling up on her side.

"But you're a healer," he protested. "You know not eating isn't good."

"Don't care," she murmured, realizing she sounded like more like a disobedient child than a sick person.

"Katara…"

"Why do I have to?"

Aang tried not to laugh, though she sounded just like a little girl. "Because when I got sick after the war, you did the same thing to me, remember?"

She nodded, her eyes still closed. "Oh, alright, I'll eat," she sighed. This time, Aang didn't bother stifling his laughter.

In spite of Suki's tea and the food, Katara still felt awful and spent half the night awake, though between her random nightmares and Aang around to keep an eye on her, she wouldn't have gotten much sleep anyway. They spent half the night whispering to each other and when she finally went to sleep, it was nearly dawn. She awoke again, late in the morning, surprised to find Aang still in her room, sitting next to her.

"You're still here?" She asked. "Why?"

"The others went on a picnic and I didn't want to leave you alone, so I stayed. Besides, even if I had gone, I'd be too busy wondering how you were to have had much fun."

"You didn't have to stay behind just for me though," she said, coughing a little.

"I'm repaying the favor," he said, remembering all the times she had kept him company when he wasn't feeling well. "And I wanted to."

"If you say so," she said, curling up against him. "But you might regret it when Sokka comes back and tells you what an awesome picnic they all had."

"I don't think I will," he replied, giving her a chaste kiss. "I never have and never will regret anything I do for you."

By the third day, Katara was feeling much better and even decided to go back to the infirmary and check on Iroh, in spite of Sokka begging her to take it easy. But she wasn't made for the idleness and was constantly doing something or other, until that evening when Aang decided he'd had enough of her running around the house cleaning what didn't need to be cleaned and fixing what didn't need to be fixed. So he merely took her hand and beckoned for her to follow.

She laughed as he led her through the woods. Once, she might have been overly worried about wandering into the woods alone with Aang, but now that she knew no one was after them or that they wouldn't run into any Fire Army battalions, she didn't mind it at all.

"Where are you taking me?" she demanded, her eyes sparkling.

"It's a surprise," he said, mysteriously. "You'll see."

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><p><em>Thanks for all the review's I've gotten so far. You're all wonderful :)<em>

_~ Cassidy A._


	4. Beneath the Full Moon

_Finally managed to finish this and post it in spite of my sprained wrist. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter III: Beneath the Full Moon<strong>

"So, what do you think?"

Katara looked around and smiled. "It's amazing. I didn't know this place was even here."

The woods had given way to a small cliff that extended out for several hundred feet before plunging down to meet a river that was snaking its way towards the sea. The canyon along either side of the river was abundant with greenery, and here and there a few trees laden with blossoms waved their branches in the gentle wind.

"Sokka found it actually," Aang admitted. "The last time we were here, when we were investigating those missing people, he got lost and we ended up here."

"Sokka has a knack for finding really pretty places whenever he gets lost," Katara laughed. "So, why'd you bring me here?"

"Because no one other than you is doing any work," Aang laughed. "You should learn a thing or two about relaxing."

She gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but I'm used to do something or other. Back home, relaxing usually meant being bored."

"It's different here, though."

"I know, but still, I can't help it. I'm just used to having something to do." Katara pointed out.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to relax every now and then, you know?"

"I know," she laughed, but suddenly became serious. "But I'd rather not, today."

"Why?"

Wordlessly, she extended her arm and pointed at something in the distance. Aang followed her gaze upwards, to the outline of the full moon suspended in the sky and he suddenly understood why. As long as Katara was occupied with something to do, she wouldn't go on reliving past memories.

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><p>The light of the full moon cast an eerie silvery glow over the treetops as Katara threaded her way between the trees. She didn't like being awake so late on nights with the full moon, but she couldn't help it. Full moons wreaked havoc on waterbenders sometimes and ever since she had learned bloodbending, full moons had done nothing but make her terrified. She supposed it was something she'd never grow out of. Once, she might have spent the entire night fighting the urge to bloodbend but these days, she was just restless and antsy. Still, some nights were worse than the others and tonight just so happened to be one of those nights. She was beyond tired, even in spite of Aang's attempts to make her relax, and she couldn't sleep. So she wandered outside, trying desperately to ignore the strange feelings rearing up within her.<p>

Ever since she had learned bloodbending from Hama, nights with the full moon brought no peace to her. Katara felt like she was cursed. In the days after she had learned the new art, it was torturous to waterbend. She had been so afraid of bloodbending she could barely even practice her waterbending. Nothing anyone did helped and the more they tried to comfort her, the worse she felt. After a while, things changed. Waterbending became easier on the full moon nights and quite often she forgot all about bloodbending because the full moon just made her feel energized and restless to do something. Today was different, however. Something inside of her was screaming for her to bloodbend and though she was fighting the urge to do so, she felt like she was losing. She hadn't bloodbended in a long time; the last time she had used the dark art had been when Zuko helped her find the Southern Raiders. But now, the full moon was chipping away at her resistance and Katara was afraid she was going to cave in, especially now that they were temporarily staying in Hama's village and that she was walking the same paths that she had walked with Hama so long ago. So she continued walking through the forest, intent on ignoring the urge to bloodbend until she spotted something at the base of a tree from the corner of her eye.

She had spent countless nights staying up, more than she cared to remember. She knew that there were hundreds of creatures out and about, prowling through the dark forests cloaked by the cover of darkness, but this was the first time she had seen one. A mother cat owl and its baby were lying at the base of a tree and Katara approached them cautiously, surprised that they made no move to fly away the closer she got. It wasn't until she was directly in front of them that she noticed that the mother's wing was punctured and broken, and that the baby was badly wounded. It looked like the tiny creature had been attacked. She reached out gently and the mother squawked, clawing at her with its talons.

"It's okay," she murmured, soothingly. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The cat owl just looked at her, its large eyes shining in the moonlight and squawked again. This time, she made no move to attack Katara, so the waterbender gently reached out and placed her hand on the mother's wing. Slowly, the gaping wound began to close itself and within seconds, there was nothing but a faint scar to indicate that she had ever been injured. Tearing a piece of fabric from the hem of her dress, Katara deftly bandaged her wing and turned her attention to the fledgling lying beside her. The poor thing looked beyond help, but Katara tried her best to heal it anyway. After a few minutes, the mother gave a shrill cry and flying haphazardly with her broken wing, abandoned her chick. Noticing its mother had left, the fledgling gave a weak cry and, spurting blood everywhere, fell silent. Katara stared at it for several seconds, letting the silence encompass her. The fledgling didn't stir and fighting back tears, Katara continued to heal it. After a few minutes, she gave up, letting her blood-soaked hands fall limply at her sides as she hung her head in sadness. The tears fell freely this time and she didn't bother scrubbing them away as she picked herself up and ran towards the nearest lake to wash her hands. She thought she heard someone call her name and she thought she saw a certain airbender running after her, but she wasn't so sure.

She found the lake soon enough and wasted no time washing her hands. The water was cold and refreshing against her skin but it seemed like the more she scrubbed, the dirtier her hands got. The bloodstains still stained her palms, their red color a stark contrast to her tan skin. She began scrubbing even harder until she was forcibly pulled from the water's edge.

"Katara," Aang said. "Your hands are clean."

So her eyes hadn't been playing tricks on her, then. She looked up at Aang and then down at her hands. She could still see faint traces of blood on them. Were her eyes playing tricks on her now?

"You don't see them," she whispered, gazing at her hands.

"See what?" he asked, softly.

"The bloodstains."

He shook his head. "Katara, there's nothing there."

The waterbender just looked at her hands and released a shaky breath.

"Katara, are you okay?"

"Yes…no…I don't know," she wailed, burying her face in her hands and fighting the urge to just let everything go and break down. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"There's nothing wrong with you," Aang assured her.

"You don't understand," Katara said, angrily wiping a few tears that had managed to creep down her face. "I can't keep fighting it much longer. I feel like I have to bloodbend or I'll go insane."

Aang gently wiped away a stray tear. "Teach me," he said, suddenly.

The color suddenly drained from Katara's face. "You want me to teach you bloodbending?" she stammered, incredulously.

He nodded, meeting her shocked gaze.

"Why?" she whispered.

"A burden shared is a burden halved," he quoted.

"You don't know what you're asking for," she said, turning around and walking a few steps away.

"I think I do," he replied, evenly. "You don't have to bear this burden alone. If I learned it, then maybe…"

"Then maybe what?" Katara demanded. "Are you really that willing to corrupt yourself?"

Aang raised an eyebrow. "You don't think you're corrupted because you learned bloodbending, do you?"

Katara sighed and turned to face him. "No," she answered, slowly. "I don't, but I'm… I'm a far cry from being pure. But you aren't, Aang. Why would you want to learn bloodbending?"

He could think of a number of reasons, but he knew without a doubt she'd shoot each one down. When he came down to it, he really only wanted to learn it to help her. The first few months after she had learned had been terrible. Katara was a nervous wreck and quite frankly, they were all worried sick about her. But in recent months, the full moon hadn't given her much trouble. Granted, it had been a while since she had learned the art and enough full moons had come and gone for her to control the urge to bloodbend, but Aang hadn't seen her like this in months. He wanted desperately to help her and if learning bloodbending was what it would take, he knew he'd learn it in the blink of an eye.

"Besides," Katara continued. "Won't I get in trouble for teaching the Avatar how to bloodbend?" She looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer, but she realized he wasn't even paying attention. He was looking at something beyond her. "What's wrong?"

"She's here," he said, pointing at someone. From the corner of her eye, the waterbender caught a glimpse of silver and bracing herself for what was to come, turned to face Hama.

It seemed as if time had suddenly caught up with the old bloodbender, for she looked a great deal weaker and was leaning heavily on a cane. Her hands looked too frail to do even basic waterbending and she was breathing heavily. Behind her, a less than sympathetic prison guard was fixing his gaze on Hama, occasionally sneaking glances at the Avatar and the waterbender and wondering what this frail, old woman could possibly have to say to them.

"So it's true then," Hama said, breaking at the silence. "You are here."

Katara gave a curt nod and Hama sighed.

"Well, out with it, Katara. I'm not getting any younger."

"Wh-what?" she stammered, confused.

"Aren't you here to lecture me on the wrongs of teaching you such a dark art, for corrupting you with bloodbending?"

"No."

"Oh." The old lady fell silent after that. For a while, she watched Katara fidget under her gaze before she spoke again. "I don't regret it."

Katara just looked at her questioningly.

"Teaching you bloodbending," Hama clarified. "Perhaps it was a foolish thing to do; perhaps I was wrong after all. But I'm not sorry. I can't be sorry I learned it, not after what the Fire Nation did to my people. Maybe someday, you'll understand where I'm coming from. You'll understand why I taught you. But enough of that. I didn't come here for that."

"Then what did you come for?"

"I have no right to do this, to suppose that you would even think about accepting anything from me, but I wanted to give you this." From her pocket, she withdrew her old comb and handed it to Katara. "I want you to have it, along with my old inn and whatever is in it."

Katara just looked at her in shock. "I can't take your inn, much less your last relic from the tribe."

"What am I to do with an inn while I'm dying in prison? Be sensible, Katara. Look at me. Do you honestly think I'll ever be fit to run that inn if I come out of prison alive?"

Katara knew she wouldn't but she couldn't bring herself to agree with Hama.

"But why are you doing this?"

"Because," Hama said, giving her a small, tired smile. "I have little left, Katara. I have no one to turn to. No one will miss me when I'm gone; in fact, there are people here right now who wouldn't think twice about having me killed. And I'll admit, in spite of how I feel, I did some bad things, unforgiveable things. But out of everyone I know, I felt like only you would at least _consider _forgiving me." She sighed and ran a pale hand through her hair. "But perhaps even that is too much to wish for. I don't mind if you don't forgive me; I don't expect you to. I just wanted you to know."

Katara just glanced down at the comb resting in her hand.

"Whether or not you use bloodbending is up to you. I wouldn't care, even if it died with me. I just thought you should know about it. And being a bloodbender doesn't make you any less a waterbender and any more a monster. It's how you use it that counts. Maybe the way I used it wasn't the best, but I was simply repaying the favor. An eye for an eye, they say. And so what if the whole world goes blind? I did what I thought best," Hama said. "You'll do great thing, I'm sure, Katara, even without bloodbending." Giving her a smile and laughing softly, the old woman turned and plodded slowly back the way she had come with the prison guard silently following. She hadn't gotten very far before she stopped and turned to face Katara one last time. "You know, if I ever had a granddaughter, I'd want her to be like you." And then as quickly as she had come, she was gone. Katara just watched her go, surprised and shocked at what had just happened and closed her eyes, holding back tears.

For what seemed liked the hundredth time, she glanced at the comb reposing in her palm and her fingers instinctively curled around it. She felt like she couldn't forgive Hama, but she _wanted _to. Maybe she could start here.

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><p><em>Thank you all for the lovely reviews! ^-^<em>

_~ Cassidy Alice_


	5. What She Lost

_I know I haven't updated in almost a week, but I've been really busy, so it took me a while to write this. I hope it's okay. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>Chapter IV: What She Lost<strong>

In the darkness of the tiny, cramped tent, two waterbenders sat around a weak fire, poring over scrolls. Darkness had descended once again and despite the hour, the two were still wide awake and hard at work. After years of toiling, years of perfecting their waterbending, they were now ready to complete their age old goal. All they needed now was a waterbending master to help teach them one final thing and they knew just where the master would be.

* * *

><p>Taking a sip of his hot drink, Yuan scooted closer to the hearth. A relentless rain was pouring down over the small village he was staying in and he desperately wished it would stop. He needed to be sure that the Firelord hadn't left the neighboring village yet. As long as the Firelord was there, there was still a chance that he could sneak aboard the airship and take what he needed. According to his friends, he would be able to sneak aboard the aircraft at the end of the week, but Yuan didn't see how any of that was possible when the rainstorm prevented him from keeping a close watch on the Firelord. He sighed, and leaning back in his chair, closed his eyes. He couldn't wait till he got aboard that airship. He didn't know exactly what his comrades had planned to get the airship to land while it was in midair, but he trusted them completely. He'd even made them promise that they wouldn't hurt anyone aboard. They'd laughed at him then. It was rather hard to imagine them hurting the Avatar or the Firelord, but he'd made them promise not to attack the others. Solemnly, they had promised him and he was sure they would keep their word.<p>

* * *

><p>Katara was usually a light sleeper and easily woken up by certain noises, so when Aang tiptoed across the floor, accidently stepping on the creaking floorboard in their room, he was sure the waterbender would wake up. Thankfully, however, Katara didn't stir and Aang managed to slip out the door and make it out of the house without being noticed. The sun was just pushing past the horizon, bathing the inn and the surrounding village in a reddish glow and a warm breeze was whispering in the eaves.<p>

The prison was lit only by the red-orange glow of the rising sun and glancing at his surroundings, Aang thought that it wasn't much of a prison. The cells didn't look like they could contain criminals and as he walked through the passageways, he was almost positive that he saw several prisoners diligently working at the lock on their cell door. He knew he probably should have stopped them, but the warden hadn't lost any prisoners yet and since most of the convicts were in for petty crimes, he didn't think their stay would be very long.

The passageway suddenly broke off into two separate corridors and Aang continued on, ignoring the strange glances some of the people gave him. He wondered if the warden had announced his arrival. He hoped not. The last thing he needed was for everyone to know who he was and what he was doing there.

The cell he was looking for loomed in front of him all too soon. Behind the iron bars, Hama smiled at him and laughed a wheezing sort of laugh that racked her whole body.

"So, you came after all," she said, gazing at the airbender. He nodded. "I didn't think you'd come."

"You asked me to," he replied, holding up the note she had somehow slipped him.

"So I did," she agreed, repositioning herself so she was more comfortable on her bed. Her cell was rather spacious, but other than her bed and a small shelf with next to nothing on it, it was empty.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Hama asked, her gray eyes boring into his. "You were the boy in the headband when I first met you?" Aang nodded. "Of course, you had hair then, and you were considerably shorter, but I still recognize you."

Aang didn't say anything.

"So," Hama continued. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"About what?"

"Bloodbending. Surely the Avatar has some qualms with it."

"It wasn't my place to say anything then and even if I had, what difference would it have made?"

"Perhaps if I had known your true identity, I would have spared Katara," Hama said. "Then again, perhaps not. Have you learned it, then?"

"No."

Hama breathed something like a sigh of relief.

"Does it bother you?" Aang wondered.

Hama shook her head and coughed. "Teaching you, whether you asked or not, would have been a mistake. When I taught Katara, I knew full well what I was doing. But I know nothing about spirits and I didn't want to be punished for teaching the Avatar something like bloodbending."

"So, why'd you teach Katara then? She never asked."

"Dying does wonders for a person, Avatar. I see things more clearly now than I saw them then. I taught it to her because she is the last true Southern waterbender. There was no one else to teach it to and not teaching was not an option. There are good and bad aspects of all types bending and perhaps there is some good yet that will come out of it. I didn't teach it to her simply because I wanted to make her feel like a monster. I thought she deserved to use it to avenge her mother's death, to avenge what happened to our people."

"But she didn't," he said.

"There's not much I can do then, is there? I taught it to her, but what she does with it is entirely up to her. And I find now, that I honestly don't care what happens with the art because it'll never truly fade. Someone will rediscover it if Katara chooses not to share it with other waterbenders." She sighed and closed her eyes as if preparing for sleep, so Aang made a move to go, but the old lady stopped him.

"Has Katara even considered forgiving me?"

"I don't know. You did hurt her, so you can't expect her to forgive you just like that."

"I know but she forgave the Firelord, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but then again, Zuko never forced her to learn bloodbending."

"Do you think she'll forgive me?"

"She might," Aang replied. "Or she might not. But that's for her to decide, isn't it?"

And as Hama watched the airbender leave, she couldn't help but think that Katara would never forgive her.

By the time Aang returned home, the sun was slowly disappearing behind rain clouds. It was still early yet but he was surprised to find everyone, including Sokka who usually slept until noon, up and about. Katara was in an inexplicably happy mood all day long and Aang was dying to know why, but he didn't get the chance to ask her until the day had ended. After they'd all eaten dinner, the table had been cleared, and they returned to their rooms, he finally got a moment to ask her.

"Zuko says we can leave soon," she replied when he demanded she fill him in on the good news. "By the end of the week."

"That's two days," he noted.

Katara nodded, grinning. "I know."

"What about General Iroh?"

"What about him?"

"Don't you still have to heal him?"

"No. He just needs to rest for a few more days. Besides, he said he's already got plans. He's travelling with someone in search of some rare tea leaf or something."

Aang chuckled. "That sounds like something Iroh would do."

Katara nodded. "It does, doesn't it?" She gave a contented sigh and smiled. "I'm so glad we're finally leaving. Two days seems so long, though."

In reality, it wasn't. There was so much that needed to be done, that two days passed in the blink of an eye. Before she knew it, Katara was packed and ready to go. As the others loaded their belongings on the airship, Katara quietly slipped away. In minutes, she was standing before Hama, who seemed to have gotten frailer since the last time they had met.

"You're leaving?" Hama asked. She knew there were few reasons the waterbender would come otherwise.

Katara nodded. "I wouldn't have come here, but…"

"You're here," Hama said, simply.

Katara nodded again. "I never asked to be a bloodbender, but I was forced to learn it. And I didn't want your inn either, but I took that too, but only because you're…"

"Dying? Don't be afraid to admit it, Katara. It's the truth and you know it."

"I was going to say because you're from my tribe," she said. "But I guess that works too."

"What did you really come here for?" the old woman wondered. "You're not the type to come all this way just to say that."

"I came to say goodbye. I'm leaving and I don't think I'm coming back."

"I see."

"I still can't forgive you yet, but maybe someday I will."

And as the waterbender disappeared down the corridor, Hama fell back on her bed with a contented sigh.

* * *

><p>Yuan was nervous and jittery. The week had finally come to an end and it seemed hard to believe that he was going to get what he sought at last. He still remembered how his uncle had smiled at him in that mysterious way and said, <em>it's on the airship, my boy. The treasure awaits<em>. He would laugh so hard he'd turn red, leaving a confused Yuan to ponder what he meant. But Yuan was confused no longer. He knew exactly what treasure awaited on board that airship and he intended to get it. Ever since his uncle had passed away, Yuan had been alone. Other than his friends, he had no one to turn to and hardly any money to support himself. But after tonight, it would all be different.

Sunlight was streaming through the branches of the trees, bathing everything it touched in a soft, golden light. Patiently, Yuan waited for his friends to show up. It had been a long, tiring journey to get to the rendezvous point where his friends said they'd be, but if everything went well, it would be worth the wait. Smiling to himself, Yuan glanced around. The tiny forest he was in soon gave way to a grassy, open plain that stretched for some distance before meeting a mountain range. According to his friends, the airship would land on the plains and while they provided him a distraction, he'd have more than enough time to get what he needed. Yuan had memorized the path over and over again. He knew exactly where to go once he was on board, but he was worried the chance would never come. Or worse yet, he was worried he'd get caught in the act. But it was pointless to worry about it now. All he could do was hope for the best.

* * *

><p>"Where'd you learn to pilot an airship?" Zuko asked, watching Sokka and Suki.<p>

"There's not much to learn," Sokka admitted. "The mechanics are pretty simple, really."

Zuko shrugged. "I never figured out how."

"Well you wouldn't need to anyway," Suki replied, keeping her eyes fixed on the path ahead as she steered the giant aircraft about. "You'll have someone to do it for you."

Zuko made a face. "Yeah, I guess I will. But I hate all the people who keep following me around and asking if they can take me somewhere when I can go there without them."

"Like coming here," Mai teased, giving him a knowing smile.

Zuko nodded, running a hand through his hair. "It took me forever just to convince some of them that I didn't need them to come with me. They were so worried about how I'd keep up to date on all the problems that they sent me everything through mail." He held out a bunch of letters for Sokka, Suki, and Mai to see and Sokka gave a low whistle.

"That's a lot of letters. Anything interesting?"

"Well, the Earth King invited us to his celebration a few weeks from today. It's on the day of the lunar eclipse."

"There's a lunar eclipse coming up?" Sokka asked and Zuko nodded. He wondered if Katara knew.

"Is there a reason we're going down?" Aang asked suddenly, breaking Sokka from his thoughts. The airbender had been talking with Katara and Toph but he hadn't noticed their descent until Toph had pointed it out to him.

"Something's wrong with the ship's mechanisms," Suki cried as the ship gave a loud groan and descended at an even faster rate. "When I tried taking it higher to cross those mountains, it just started going down."

"At least we'll land in on the plains," Mai said, glancing out the window. "It could have been worse."

"Can you bend us up, Toph?" Zuko asked.

"I can bend metal, genius, not keep it airborne. Besides this entire ship isn't made of metal."

"I knew we should have stuck with Appa," Sokka muttered, helping Suki with the steering. But it was no use. The harder they tried to keep the ship airborne, the faster it descended.

It hit the ground with a sickening thud and in spite of bracing themselves for what was to come, they were all surprised when they found themselves outside, sprawled on the tall grasses that gently waved in the wind. The metal rudder had completely fallen off and the hull had broken off as well. Most of the ship remained intact, but there were chunks of metal and canvas lying around in various places.

"I think we're all okay," Zuko said, looking around.

"Where's Suki?" Toph asked. Sokka groaned when he noticed the Kyoshi warrior was nowhere in sight. They heard a faint clanging noise in the distance and Sokka brightened.

"That must be Suki," he cried. "Come on, let's go."

"Hang on," Toph said. "Who are they?"

Sokka grumbled as several firebenders emerged from the woods that bordered the edge of the plains.

"You guys can handle them, right?" Sokka asked. The others nodded. "I'm going to go find Suki."

Katara watched her brother disappear and turned her attention to the newcomers. There were about seven of them, all dressed in the same, plain black uniforms. In places where the light of the setting sun didn't reach, they blended in with the landscape. She thought they might have been part of the Fire Nation's army or something, but when they started attacking Zuko, she wasn't so sure.

Perhaps attack wasn't the right word. They weren't really attacking anyone. True, they were using their firebending, but attack was hardly the proper term. It was almost as if they were using their bending to initiate some sort of game because every shot they fired could (and was) easily deflected. It wasn't until Zuko announced he was going to check on the airship that the firebenders became more aggressive. By the way they were bending it was clear that their goal was nothing more than to keep the Firelord and his companions occupied. Katara wondered what on earth they could possibly gain from doing that when she noticed someone sneak off the airship from her peripheral vision. The person was carrying a strange looking bundle and for a moment, the waterbender thought it was Momo, but then she remembered that they hadn't even brought him on their journey. She was about to alert Zuko, but Toph did a much better job by earthbending the stranger in front of them. Before anyone could ask him who he was and what he was doing, the firebenders were bending again. They still hadn't bothered to attack anyone, but they were clearly trying to retreat. Their walls of fire, however, were no match for Aang and Katara's waterbending. Within seconds, the orange wall of flames dissipated. Exchanging looks and nodding, the firebenders opted for a different tactic.

Zuko and Aang seemed to know what they were going to do because, almost instinctively, they took a step back. Toph just stood there waiting and Mai was watching the firebenders with a less than amused expression on her face. Waving and bowing politely to Zuko, the seven men used grinned before the field in front of them was lit with bright flashes of fire. Katara threw up her hands to shield herself, but it was too late. The damage had been done.

Their maneuver had been simple and usually worked. Zuko had mentioned that firebenders could use such tactics for quick getaways. Bright flashes of light usually stunned people allowing the firebenders to escape, but when seven firebenders were using the same technique at once, Zuko realized it could be deadly.

"At least no one got hurt," he said, straining his eyes to catch of glimpse of the firebenders who had disappeared into the woods.

"I wonder where Sokka is," Aang mused.

"He probably got lost looking for Suki," Toph said and Zuko laughed.

"He would," Mai muttered, giving a small smile. "I can't believe a person can be so smart and so dumb at the same time."

Aang laughed but grew somber when he noticed Katara wasn't joining in on their conversation. She was standing some distance away and gazing out.

"Are you okay?" he asked, noticing the waterbender was looking a little pale, almost as if she was nervous about something. Her eyes were blank and unfocused.

"Aang," she whispered, in a small voice as if she didn't want to be overheard. "I can't see."

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><p><em>Thanks for all the reviews so far :)<em>

_~ Cassidy Alice_


	6. Not Enough

_I know I haven't updated this in a really long time, but I'm really busy so unfortuantely, I won't be able to update as often as I used to. I'm still trying to update at least once a week, though, so hopefully I can still do that. In the meantime, here's the next chapter. Happy readings!_

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><p><strong>Chapter V: Not Enough<strong>

There wasn't much of a chance. Yuan had to be honest with himself when he saw his friends futilely trying to break free of their earthen shackles. Only seconds before, the firebender and his friends had been running, but now, Yuan found himself on the grass, dazed and slightly nervous. The small wooden box he had taken was lying a few meters in front of him, at the feet of a petite, blind girl.

"Did you honestly think you could get away from the world's greatest earthbender?" She asked, smirking.

Yuan smiled sheepishly. "Um…I…"

"Who are you?" Zuko demanded, cutting him off. "And why did you destroy my ship?"

"My name is Yuan and I didn't mean to," he said, honestly. "I just needed to get that." He pointed to the box lying at Toph's feet.

"What's in the box?" Sokka asked, eyeing it warily. "You're not planning on hurting anyone else, are you?"

"No, not at all," Yuan said. "I'm sorry about that, though." He nodded in Suki's direction. Her arm was scraped and bleeding and she was holding it tightly and wincing every time she made the slightest movement.

"So, then what's in it?"

Yuan sighed. "Money."

"Money?" Toph repeated. "You sabotaged our airship just for some money? I guess money does make people stupid."

"You don't understand," Yuan said. "It's mine. My uncle left it to me. He worked under Ozai. As a matter of fact, he was on board your father's airship," he said to Zuko. "The very one your father used to lead his raid on the Earth Kingdom. My uncle had always been sick and his health had been failing him, so he secretly hid his entire life savings aboard the airship. A few months after the war's end, he passed away but he gave me this before he died."

Yuan pulled out a faded piece of paper with a brief message and a map with instructions to the money.

"I'm an orphan," Yuan admitted. "I don't have much other than the little bit I earn with odd jobs so I really needed this money. I had no way to get on the airship, but my friends said they could help me. They said they tampered with the mechanisms, so that when the airship reached a certain altitude it wouldn't go any higher. We weren't trying to hurt anyone, though."

"Luckily, no one was hurt," Zuko said unaware of Suki's injured arm, which was probably broken, and Katara's inability to see. "But don't ever try anything like that again."

Yuan nodded solemnly. Zuko handed him the box and Toph released the other firebenders, albeit reluctantly.

"They're crazy," she muttered, as Yuan and his friends left. "They could have just asked us to give them that stupid box when we landed."

Zuko smiled. "They _should_ have, but they didn't."

"At least it could have been worse," Mai pointed out. She sighed as she gazed at the broken airship. "We're going to have to walk home, aren't we?"

"It's not too far," Suki said, trying to cheer her up. "If we walk fast, we should be there in no time."

"I wish we had Appa," Sokka grumbled. He was about to ask Aang if there was still a small chance Appa could come to them, when he noticed Katara standing next to the airbender, furiously wiping away a few tears that escaped from her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Sokka asked, cautiously. "You've been awfully quiet."

"I'm fine," was Katara's sarcastic remark.

"Then, do you think you can heal Suki's arm?" Sokka wondered, failing to note the sarcasm in his sister's voice.

"I can't," Katara sighed.

"Why not?"

"Sokka, I can't."

"That's a lame excuse, Katara," the warrior shot back. "If you don't want to, then just say so."

"She really can't," Aang said, softly enough that only Sokka could hear. He gave the airbender a puzzled look.

"Why?"

"Because I'm blind," Katara snapped, losing her temper. "There. Are you happy now?"

"What?" Sokka choked, staring hard at his sister. "How?"

"The firebending," was all Katara said, before hanging her head.

"Maybe it's temporary," Toph said, softly. "That happened to my dad's servant. He lost his eyesight after some boiling water incident or something. Apparently the water was hot enough to cause him to lose his eyesight temporarily. It took him almost a year to see again, but it wasn't permanent."

"How did it happen?" Mai demanded. "She wasn't that close to the firebenders."

"She didn't have to be," Toph replied. "Eyes are sensitive to light. Bright flashes or injuries to the eye can make people go blind. How long they're blind depends on how bad their injury is."

"And bright flashes can stun people," Zuko added. "But when there are several firebenders using that technique to get away, it's dangerous. Maybe it was the bright light from the firebending that made you go blind." Katara shrugged. "Either ways, I'm sure Toph's right and it's only temporary."

"And if it's not?" Katara whispered.

"Don't think like that," Suki said, gently. "Besides, Sokka's pessimism is more than enough."

Katara released a shaky breath. "I'm sorry, but this is…terrifying actually. It's scary, not being able to see after I was able to see everything clearly just minutes ago."

"I wonder if there's some way to use waterbending to sense your surroundings," Toph mused. "It worked with earthbending."

"Yeah, but you learned from the original earthbenders, badger-moles," Aang pointed out. "The original waterbender is the moon and Katara can't learn from it."

"Maybe not," Katara said. "But maybe I don't need to see to try and heal."

Healing Suki's arm actually wasn't that challenging with someone directing her where to heal. Of course, she couldn't actually repair the broken bones as they needed time to heal on their own, but as always, her healing took care of the minor injuries. Katara had to admit, that even in spite of her bad mood, she was glad she could do at least this.

Getting back to the Fire Nation palace was a different story. It wasn't a long walk just as Suki said, but Katara refused to have anyone help her. She wouldn't let Sokka or Aang guide her or have Toph make an earthen palanquin for her. When she stumbled, tripped, or fell, she ignored everyone's complaints, fought back tears, and continued on. By the time they all reached the palace, it was well past midnight and tired, sore, and sleepy, they stumbled to their quarters. Aang was glad for the comfortable bed, but he didn't get much sleep because he was too busy thinking of Katara. He didn't know that behind the locked door of her room, the waterbender was still up, trying to use her healing abilities to restore her eyesight. It didn't work.

The following morning, when Katara came down for breakfast she looked tired and sad. Her eyes were red, though whether from lack of sleep or crying Aang couldn't tell, though he had his suspicions. He wanted to help her, but Katara wouldn't accept anyone's help just yet. She was determined to cope with her situation all by herself. In the days that followed, everyone more or less became accustomed to the sound of things falling when Katara walked into them or her frustrated cries when something went wrong, which was quite often. At night, Aang often passed by her room only to find her trying to heal herself. He didn't know if her healing abilities were effective or not, but he hoped they were.

Even if they weren't, he had to give Katara credit where it was due. She was persistent, as always. The more the others tried to get her to accept what had happened, the harder she worked at finding a solution to curing her blindness. And being blind didn't stop her from doing what she had always done. She refused to sit idly and let the others do things for her. Even if it took her all day to sew something simple or cut fruits and vegetables or do her everyday tasks, she did them slowly and carefully. In no time at all, she was able to do things just as well as she had when her sight was still of use to her. But as strong as she was, Aang could tell being blind was wearing away at her patience. Katara was always used to keeping herself busy, but now she couldn't do much other than indoor activities. She hadn't practiced waterbending since she lost her vision, Sokka hardly let her go outdoors unless he or Aang was with her, and reading and writing were now out of the question. Sitting idly and doing nothing was infuriatingly boring for her and she was slowly beginning to break. At night, Aang couldn't be sure, but he often thought he heard her crying quietly to herself.

One particularly warm night found the airbender lying wide awake thinking he'd never get to sleep. Several minutes later, he was in a deep sleep dreaming about something pleasant when someone gently shook him awake. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he sat up, surprised to find Katara in his room.

"Aang, is that you?"

"It's me," he replied sleepily, stifling a yawn. In spite of the few tears that betrayed how she really felt, she gave a small smile. When she had been able to see, she would often sneak around the palace looking for things to do on those rare nights when sleep wouldn't come to her. Often, it had been so dark that Katara was used to walking without being able to see what was in front of her. It came in handy, she realized, because she hadn't had any trouble finding Aang's room or the various other places she frequented when she was unable to sleep.

"What's wrong?" Aang asked when Katara gave a melancholy sigh.

"I want to waterbend," she said. "But I need your help. I was considering asking Toph, but she's an earthbender so…"

"Katara, Sokka would kill me if he knew I was helping you."

"But this isn't about Sokka," she pointed out.

"I know, but he's just worried. He cares, you know?"

"I know, but I thought you cared too," Katara said.

"I do," Aang responded. "But I'm just not sure if this is going to work. I've never done something like this before."

"It will work," she said, resolutely. "It has too."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, tentatively.

Katara nodded. "I need to. I'm practically useless now that all I can do is simple sewing and a little bit of cooking. But I want to try using my waterbending the way Toph uses her earthbending."

"Maybe you should ask Pakku to help you. I'd only mess things up," Aang said but Katara shook her head.

"The South Pole is too far to travel and if my dad found out, he'd worry about me unnecessarily. I have to do this."

"But why?" Aang protested. "You're not useless, Katara. No one is. Being blind doesn't make you any different."

"Aang, I'm starting to forget what certain places were like and what certain people looked like, even Sokka, sometimes. And I'm starting to forget Mai's frown, Toph's funny faces, even your smile. If this is going to prevent me from seeing, then I at least want to waterbend."

Aang shook his head, but he was smiling. "Fine, but if Sokka yells at us, don't say I didn't warn you."

Katara beamed and gave him a hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

Outside, the air was cool and a warm breeze was blowing, rustling the treetops and making the grasses wave gently in time to its otherworldly rhythm. The waters of the lake were pleasant and Katara was thrilled to find she could still waterbender. She'd done the forms often enough that being blind hardly hampered her. Using them to attack or defend herself was a different story. Even shielding herself from basic attack moves was a lot harder than she thought it would be. By the time the night was fading into dawn, she was drenched and tired and no closer to figuring out how to defend herself without being able to see her surroundings. So night after night, she and Aang snuck out to the lake to practice, but even hours of rigorous practice didn't seem to help.

"Maybe if we try it a little differently," Katara suggested one night as they sat by the lake, after they had taken a short break from practicing. "Maybe then I'll get it."

"What else could we do?" Aang wondered. "There's no other way to get these forms other than practicing them."

Katara's face suddenly brightened. "Maybe if you actually attack me, I'd get it."

"I am not going to attack you," he replied, firmly. "Besides, what's the point of that?"

"If you actually attack me, then maybe I can get these forms. They _were_ designed mainly for defense."

"But that would only work if you can see," Aang pointed out. "If I use any of the waterbending forms to attack you now, you'll just get hurt and wet."

"We can always try," Katara said. "Trying never hurt anyone."

"Yet," Aang added.

Katara just hummed in agreement. "Now, are you going to attack me or not?"

"Katara," he groaned. "I already told you…"

But the waterbender had already manipulated a thin tendril of water, and grinning at the airbender, bent it over him.

"Are you scared to attack a blind girl?" She teased.

"Yes," he admitted. "I'd rather not hurt you."

"I'll be fine," she sighed. "And besides, even if you do hurt me, it's not like it'll make much of a difference. I can't do much anyway."

"Well not right away," Aang agreed. "But I'm sure in no time you'll be able to do things like you were."

Katara sighed and fell back on the grass. "I don't know. It doesn't look like this is temporary."

"You have no way of knowing that, though, so it might be."

"I hope it is just temporary and not permanent," she replied in a small voice. "I hate not being able to see. I don't know how Toph stands it."

Aang shrugged but then he realized Katara couldn't see. "I don't know," he replied. "But she seems happy enough, so I guess not being able to see doesn't really bother her."

"Maybe I should just go back home," Katara mused. "It'd be worse than staying with you and everyone else, but then at least I wouldn't be a burden."

"You're not a burden and that's a crazy idea that won't work." Aang said.

"Why not?" She demanded.

"Because if you leave, Sokka will go with you and Suki will want to go with him. And if you're leaving, I'll leave with you and Toph will come because she doesn't want to go back home and she won't have anything to do by herself since she's won nearly every earthbending tournament there is. So in the end, you really can't get rid of any of us."

Katara laughed, the first real laugh Aang had heard from her in a long time. "I guess you're right. But won't I just get in the way? Assuming my blindness isn't temporary, I won't be able to do much."

"You don't have to do anything, Katara."

She sighed. "But I'll go insane if I just sit in one place all day doing the same things over and over. Besides, you'll get tired of a boring girl who can't do anything but sit and look stupid."

"I won't get tired of you," he promised, giving her a quick kiss. "And you don't look stupid just because you can't see."

Katara shrugged, a smile was tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Come on," Aang said, helping her to her feet. "We have some waterbending practicing to do."

This time, she didn't bother hiding the smile that crept across her face and as she let Aang lead her to the lake's shore, several hundred feet away, she was hit with the sudden realization that as long as Aang was around to help her, maybe being blind wasn't _so_ bad after all and that perhaps she could come to terms with what had happened and still somehow be who she had been before.

It was nearly morning by the time Aang snuck back to his room. Katara had fallen asleep as soon as she had changed out of her wet clothes and crawled into bed and Aang was thankful Sokka wasn't up to catch them. But when he entered his room and saw the warrior there, he prepared himself for the lecture of a lifetime. Much to his surprise, however, Sokka just smiled and greeted him.

"How was waterbending practice with Katara?" he asked.

"You knew?" Aang asked. He hadn't gotten wet, so there wasn't any evidence to suggest that he had been waterbending with Katara.

Sokka nodded. "She's my sister. You think I wouldn't know her?"

"Honestly, I thought you'd be upset."

Sokka chuckled. "No, I'm not upset. She's been dying to waterbend anyway. I've seen her practicing with a bowl of water in her room. Besides, you're the only one who can help her since you can waterbend, so I knew she'd ask you eventually. How was it?"

Aang shrugged. "She can waterbend, if that's what you're wondering, but she can't use it for attack or defense yet."

Sokka looked crestfallen. "Oh. That's not good."

"Why?"

"Because," he replied, handing Aang a piece of paper. "Dad just sent me a letter that Chief Arnook sent him from the North Pole. And it's not good news."

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><p>Yuan walked home from the tavern, a few of the coins from his recently acquired inheritance jingling in his pocket. The day was drawing to a close and for the first time in a long time, Yuan felt truly content. He had enough money to rent a small apartment, buy edible food, and live a decent life. His friends had also received their share of the money, and Yuan was fiercely glad that he still had more than enough for himself.<p>

"Things are suddenly looking brighter," he said to himself.

"Are they?" Someone asked, coming up behind him. Before Yuan could react, he felt the heat of the firebender's flames and instinctively used his firebending to protect himself. His opponent, a middle aged man with a moustache and an eerie smile just laughed before a thin column of fire reared up in front of Yuan. Parrying it and providing his own attack, Yuan managed to put some distance between them. But the firebender just kept attacking so for a while, he and Yuan danced in circles. Back and forth they went, one attacking, the other parrying. Neither one of them seemed to have won when the firebender gave up and Yuan turned to leave, but the firebender stopped him.

"My boy, how would you like to work for the Firelord, as a member of his navy?"

"Me?" Yuan repeated. The prospect seemed inviting. "Could I?"

"Of course," the man replied, leading him to a secluded dock not too far off. "That'll be the ship you'll work on."

In the light of the setting sun, Yuan was able to make out a large ship with several men aboard. High above the deck, a blood red flag with a black sea raven billowed in the breeze and Yuan suddenly felt nervous. This wasn't the Fire Navy, he realized. As if he sensed Yuan's nervousness, the older firebender laughed.

"Welcome, my boy, to the Southern Raiders."

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><p><em>Thank you all so much for all the reivews I've gotten so far. You're all wonderful! ^.^<em>

_~ Cassidy Alice_


	7. Surprises

_I know I haven't updated this in almost a month, but I haven't forgotten about it. I've just been super busy, but I managed to find some time to write this. I hope it's not too confusing. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer:_ _I don't own anything :(_

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><p><strong>Chapter<strong>**VI: ****Surprises**

Yuan blanched. This was not the job he was looking for. He vaguely wondered if there was still some possibility he could back out. There was no way he was going to join the Southern Raiders, even if it cost him his life. They were half the reason he was an orphan. Even otherwise, he didn't want to spend the rest of his life working for a bunch of thugs, because that was what he knew the Raiders were. He stared at the ship and shuddered. Of all the bad luck, he fumed. He wondered why fate seemed to be mocking him. Why was he being chosen to join the very same people that had hunted and killed his father?

"Well," the firebender asked. "What do you say?"

"Find someone else," he refused. "I refuse to work for the Southern Raiders. I won't help kill people."

"You're young and strong," the older man said. "Join us. We don't kill people or carry out raids anymore. As a matter of fact, we're not even associated with the Fire Nation. Our new team has several elite earthbenders and even a couple of waterbenders. The name still stuck around. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Yuan begged to differ. "No, it doesn't."

"You just have to it some time," the older man said. "After that, you're free to go."

Yuan sighed. He wasn't really being given an option but he was in no mood to fight the older firebender again so he reluctantly followed him on board. As he set foot on the deck, Yuan wondered whether or not he was making the biggest mistake of his life.

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><p>"I think the Earth King was wrong," Sokka said staring at the moon. He and Zuko had been talking about the Earth King's invitation and whether or not they should attend his celebration. "There's no way the lunar eclipse can be on the day of his celebration. He must have gotten the dates mixed up."<p>

"How do you know?" Zuko demanded.

"The moon phases," Sokka said. "Lunar eclipses always occur on the full moon but because we can't see it, it's tricky to predict. I think the actual eclipse is two days after the date of the Earth King's celebration. It's a full moon today and so if I'm right, the eclipse should be a day or two after his celebration."

"Have you told Katara about that letter, yet?" Zuko asked, changing the subject.

"No," Sokka admitted.

"You should, since it concerns her."

"I told Aang instead."

"How is that going to help?"

Sokka shrugged and turned his gaze to the darkened yard. He knew that Aang and Katara were waterbending somewhere by the lake. "I don't know. But is it even worth telling her? She'll just get all worried and I don't want her freaking out over this."

"I still think you should tell her, but I guess it's up to you. You're her brother after all."

Sokka sighed. "I'll tell her, eventually."

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><p>"I miss watching the stars," Katara admitted as she and Aang took a break from their waterbending. "And I miss being able to waterbend properly. But I probably shouldn't complain. At least I can do a little waterbending."<p>

"And your healing abilities are good too," Aang said.

"You knew?" Katara asked.

"Knew what?" Aang asked, blankly. "It's not like you've kept it a secret."

"That's not what I meant," Katara said.

"Then what did you mean?"

"Never mind."

"Katara, what are you talking about?"

She sighed. "I haven't told anyone but I've been trying to heal my eyes since I went blind. I don't know if it's working, but I'm too afraid to stop."

"You've kept it a secret?" Aang asked. He had known she had been healing herself, so he assumed the others must have nodded. "Why?"

"I don't know."

"I don't think you have to anymore," he said, grinning even though she couldn't see.

"I know. Let's do some more waterbending," she said, hastily changing the subject.

He complied wordlessly and they set to work practicing their own forms. He still refused to attack her or waterbend on her and Katara was mildly upset that she never had the opportunity to at least try. Even if she could waterbend, what was the use if she couldn't use it for self-defense? It'd be nothing more than a hobby for her and she certainly didn't want it to be just a hobby.

Suddenly, she felt something strange. She couldn't see, but she could sense and feel the water she was bending. But at the edge of her awareness, she could sense something else, something slightly different. It felt like the water she was bending and yet strangely different. If she didn't concentrate hard enough, it was as if the thing, whatever it was, wasn't even there. It had no form, no shape, but she could sense it all the same. Without thinking twice Katara channeled her waterbending at that shapeless mass that she sensed and she heard a splash and jumped in surprise.

"What was that?" Katara asked but she got no response. "Aang?" She only heard the something break through the surface of the lake.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"What?"

"You bent me into the lake."

"I did?"

"I know I didn't throw myself in," he replied, laughing a little.

"You mean my water whip sent you into the lake?"

"Yes."

"But how? It couldn't have been you. I just sensed something."

"You sensed something?"

Katara nodded. "When I was waterbending. I sensed the water I was controlling but also something else. It was so faint I had to concentrate really hard to sense it."

"But you bent me into the lake," Aang protested. "Whatever you sensed…"

Katara gave a sudden cry of delight. "What if it was you?"

"What?" he asked, baffled.

"What if that thing I sensed, whatever it was, was you? It didn't feel like a person, but I sensed faint traces of water. And there's water in all of us, right?"

"Yeah, but how can you be sure."

She was thoughtful for a moment before telling him what to do. "Go stand somewhere else."

"Okay," he replied, shifting over a few steps and Katara felt the shapeless mass move and she was able to point to Aang. They repeated this several times until they were both convinced beyond a doubt that she could really sense him.

"Maybe Toph was on to something when she said you might be able to use waterbending like she used earthbending."

"Maybe," Katara mused. "But maybe I can sense you because you're a waterbender too."

"Maybe."

"I wish it was easier to sense, though. All I can sense is a mass of water that keeps moving. It's so strange; I barely know how to describe it."

"I think I'd be confused even if you explained it," Aang laughed. "But it's great that you can sense things."

Katara smiled. "Let's go back inside. I want to see if this works on the others."

Much to everyone's surprise, it did. If Katara concentrated hard enough, she could sense everyone. It was, she realized, similar to sensing people through their bloodbending but unlike Toph, she couldn't differentiate who was who. But she was more than happy that she could at least sense them. Explaining how it was possible wasn't as easy as actually sensing them. When they moved, she sensed water moving, not actual people. As simple as it sounded, it was so complicated to convey. But she tried nevertheless.

"When Hama was teaching me bloodbending, she told me that she practiced it on rats in her prison cell. She said they weren't much more than pouches of water that she was able to control. People are the same. That's why I can use bloodbending to control people. It's not really bending the blood inside them, but the water. And that's how I can sense people with bloodbending too. It's how I can sense all of you now. I sense the water in you. But unlike Toph, it's impossible to tell who's who," she explained.

"But you _can_ sense us?" Toph asked. Katara nodded. "Can you sense me waving my arm?"

"I can sense water moving," the waterbender said. "But I wouldn't have known you were waving your arm if you hadn't told me."

"This is great," Sokka exclaimed. "I'm sure you'll be able to see in no time."

Katara sighed. "I don't know."

That night, as they were all preparing for bed, Aang was struck with a sudden idea. He didn't know if it was guaranteed to work, so he didn't tell the others but once they were all in their rooms, he went to find Katara. She looked like she was going to sleep, but what he said stopped her.

"Katara, have you tried healing yourself, today?"

"No. Why?"

"It's a full moon tonight."

"So?"

"You're waterbending is always strongest during the full moon. And so are your healing abilities. It might be enough to heal your eyes, assuming the damage is temporary."

"I don't think it's worth it anymore, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to try."

In the dark, Aang could make out the soft blue glow of the water she was bending. He waited anxiously, but to no avail. It didn't work.

"I'm really sorry," he said, softly.

Katara shrugged. "It's not your fault. I guess I'll just have to learn to live with it. At least I can sense people though. It's better than nothing."

"I wonder why it took this long for you to be able to, though."

"There haven't been any full moons since I lost my eyesight, have there?" She asked. Aang realized she was right. "Maybe that's why it took me so long to realize I could because my waterbending wasn't strong enough. Now that I know I can, maybe I'll be able to sense you guys even when the moon isn't full. Maybe if I try hard enough…" She yawned.

"Maybe," Aang said.

The following morning, Katara awoke to a warm, golden sunlight pouring into her room and she just lay in bed a minute, admiring the golden rays that streamed through her window. But she was up in a flash when she realized that somehow, miraculously, was actually seeing sunlight. Not just sunlight, she realized, but her entire room. The tapestries that adorned the walls, her bed, her desk, her closet full of clothes, everything. She practically squealed in delight when she realized she wasn't dreaming.

"Katara?" she heard Sokka ask from the other side of her door. "Are you okay?"

The door swung open and Sokka was surprised to find Katara crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Wiping away the tears, and laughing a little as she did so, she smiled. "Nothing," she replied, giving him a huge hug. "But I can see again."

"Huh?"

"I can see," she repeated. "I'm not blind anymore."

"B-but how?" he stammered. "Yesterday you were… and today you're…I'm so confused."

"I don't know how," she said, quietly. "Maybe Aang was right."

"Aang?"

"He convinced me to try healing my eyes since it was a full moon and my waterbending was at its strongest. It didn't work right away but something must have happened overnight because now I can see again."

Sokka wasn't sure if she was right, but he knew she was telling the truth because her eyes weren't blank and unfocused anymore. They were sparkling brighter than ever, as if to make up for all that she had missed.

When the two of them joined the others for breakfast, all anyone could do was gape. It was surprising and they were all happy for Katara, but also thoroughly confused. Only Aang passed as it off as something they weren't meant to comprehend and starting acting normal again. The others just continued staring at Katara as if this was some unbelievably twisted dream.

Katara had to admit, she was ecstatic. She loved being able to see everyone and everything again. It scared her that she almost forgotten what certain people and certain things looked like, but now that she was able to see again, she knew she'd never take something so simple as being able to see for granted again.

* * *

><p>If there were words strong enough to describe what Yuan felt, he thought they hadn't been invented yet because nothing could quite describe how he felt working his new <em>job<em>. He hated every minute of it. The older firebender hadn't lied; they weren't killing people or raiding defenseless towns but they weren't doing good either. For the most part, he and the other benders aboard the vessel were working as deck hands, cleaning the galley and the upper and lower decks and whatever else needed to be cleaned. Even though the leader had promised him he could leave after a while, he never mentioned how long a while was and so Yuan found himself slaving away on the ship next to two earthbenders who were far more excited than he was to be sailing south. Their ceaseless chattering was driving him insane and he wished they'd shut up because, quite frankly, he wasn't in the mood to listen to them talk. Running a hand through his hair, he turned them out until their talk turned to more interesting matters, more specifically, the two mysterious waterbenders aboard their vessel. Yuan had only seen them briefly but they generally kept to themselves and didn't do much. Whenever he saw them, they generally gave him a curt nod and went back to doing whatever they were doing before. He longed to know who they were and why they were being so mysterious, but he never found out. As soon as their vessel docked in the Earth Kingdom, they took their belongings and left, claiming they had another boat to catch. And that, Yuan presumed, would be the last he saw of them.

* * *

><p>Hakoda stared at the two waterbenders in front of him and blinked. He found it hard to believe that a short while ago, they had all been having a reasonable conversation regarding the fate of the two Water Tribes and now the two waterbenders were suggesting the unthinkable. He didn't really find it surprising since Arnook had warned him about such people, but he did find it surprising that they were asking him to join them since they barely knew him. He had only met them a few days ago when they came on a ship from the Earth Kingdom and he had been on his way back home when they had invited him to their house. Hakoda realized he didn't even know their names.<p>

"Well," the taller of the two said, looking at Hakoda. "What do you think of our idea?"

Frankly, he thought it was crazy but he didn't tell them that. "I admire your persistence," he said. "But I'm hardly the right person for this job."

"You and Chief Arnook are ideal," the shorter waterbender said. "We need people like you, Hakoda."

"I don't think I'm well suited for it and even if I was, I don't think I'd like to."

Their chairs scraped back on the floor and simultaneously, they stood up.

"You will take this offer one way or another," the taller one hissed. "We don't have time for games like this."

"Perhaps Arnook might like to."

"He hasn't been the same since he lost his Yue," the taller one said. "So you will have to. And I expect you to tell your daughter what she needs to do."

"Excuse me?"

"Your daughter had better be compliant, Hakoda. We must act fast if our plan is to be put in action."

"I don't know what you're talking about anymore, but my daughter stays out of this, whatever _this_is," the Chief said, firmly.

"You're daughter is an integral part of our mission as is your son. Without Sokka and Katara, this entire mission could fall part."

"They stay out of this," Hakoda repeated. "I don't know what you two are planning exactly, but my children will not be involved."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'm afraid we'll have to resort to other methods, then. We'll bring your daughter here and she'll tell us the information we want. And if you don't think she'll come, believe me, she will when she finds out we have you."

Without so much as exchanging a word to each other, the two waterbenders exited the house but before Hakoda could do so, the entrance was sealed over in thick ice. Angrily, Hakoda demanded he be released but neither of the two waterbenders complied.

"We'll be back in a few days," they said, their voices muffled by the ice that kept him in. "Feel free to help yourself to whatever food we have. And for the sake of your family, we advise you to tell no one about this little deal."

As Hakoda watched them leave, he swore if he ever saw them again, he'd make them pay.

* * *

><p>Sokka looked at the others and waited for their reaction. In truth, he was waiting for his sister's reaction but she seemed composed enough. It was surprising since a few minutes ago he had told everyone that Chief Arnook had sent a letter about a group of rouge waterbenders who had somehow infiltrated the Dai Li's old headquarters and learned a vast number of their tricks, making them just as formidable. According to Arnook, they were also looking for a certain waterbenders and Aang and Katara may have fit their bill. He expected Katara to start her usual round of worrying, but she was eerily calm.<p>

"So a bunch of waterbenders got together and tried to learn the Dai Li's tricks. Big deal."

"They actually did," Sokka pointed out. "Whatever they could learn, they learned it."

"That's no reason to get upset."

Sokka sighed. If ever there was a time to worry, he thought now was it. But instead of worrying, Katara was being completely calm. He wondered if she grasped the severity of the situation. Then again, he had neglected to tell her the juicy tidbit concerning her and her ability to bloodbend, even though he had told the others because he didn't want her to try and tackle things on her own.

"What are you doing?" Zuko hissed. "You should tell her,"

Sokka sighed. He knew he really should have. But was there any way to tell his little sister that the said rogue waterbenders wanted her for the sole purpose of teaching them bloodbending?

* * *

><p>"Huang, do you think one of should have stayed behind in case Hakoda tries to escape?"<p>

The taller waterbender turned to his shorter companion and fixed him with a scornful look. "There's no way he could possibly escape, Lin, so let's just hurry up and catch the next ship out of here."

"Where are we going?" Lin huffed, keeping his pace with his companion. "You never tell me anything."

"We're going to the Earth King's celebration. There's a certain waterbender I'd like to see. And if I'm not mistaken, there's a certain earthbender we need to talk to as well."

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten so far! :)<em>

_~ Cassidy Alice_


	8. Midnight Masquerade

_Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter VII: Midnight Masquerade<strong>

Sokka knew something was wrong the minute he saw Katara leaning against his doorframe with a crumpled piece of paper in her hands. It had been a few days since they had left the Fire Nation and arrived and settled in to their house in Ba Sing Se's Upper Ring, and since then, Sokka had successfully managed to keep the truth from Katara, but as he walked into his room and heard Katara shut the door behind him, he knew that she had found out. He sighed and sat down on his bed.

"When were you planning on telling me?" She asked angrily, throwing the letter at him. "Or were you just going to wait until they popped up and tell me?"

"Katara…"

"And for future references, if you want to keep something hidden from me, you shouldn't hide it in your laundry."

"I wasn't hiding it," he protested. "I was going to tell you eventually. But…"

"What?"

"If I had told you, what would you have done?" Sokka demanded.

"It doesn't matter what I would have done. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know how to break it to you gently. I'll admit, maybe hiding it was wrong, but I couldn't figure out how to tell you."

"So not telling me was a better option?"

Sokka almost flinched under her harsh glare. "No, but I was just waiting for the right time."

"Which was when? Before or after those waterbenders decided to come here and find us?"

"I was only trying to protect you," Sokka explained.

Katara sighed. "Sokka, I know you mean well, but you should have just told me."

"Of course I should have," he said, sarcastically. "It's the easiest thing in the world, isn't it? Hey Katara, I don't know if you heard, but there's a group of rogue waterbenders who think the two Water Tribes should be united, who may or may not have learned all the Dai Li's tricks and amplified them with waterbending. And, they also want you to teach them bloodbending so they can go around killing people. How does that sound?"

Katara sighed again. "Maybe you're right, but not telling me doesn't help much either."

"So, what are you going to do?"

Katara stared out the window and shrugged. "What can I do? If those waterbenders want the two tribes to be united, they'll have to argue with the people, not come to me."

"Arnook says they want you to teach them bloodbending."

"Hang on, the letter never said that."

"What else could he possibly mean by 'Katara's new found art'?"

"Healing," Katara suggested.

"You really think they would have bothered with you if they wanted to learn how to heal? There are waterbenders who teach that in the North Pole, aren't there?"

She nodded. "You're right. But, assuming that's what they want me for, they can beg all they want, but I'm not going to teach them how to bloodbend."

"Somehow, I don't think it's going to be as easy as that," Sokka said.

* * *

><p><em>The nights are cold now and most of us don't have enough to eat or drink. We've exhausted all our supplies and for once, I can't help but wish I was a waterbender. It's a miracle how they've adapted to this place. It's a beautiful city. It's such a shame to think that our nation thinks so little of this one and the others. There is something magical and mystical about this place. True, the Southern Water Tribe may be nothing more than a city upon an iceberg, but there's a sense of mystery surrounding it. Often times, I wonder what it would be like to live here. If there wasn't such animosity between our nations, I think I'd bring our little family here, but it'd be considered treasonous to do so now and in any case, the people here would be wary of us in spite of our relations with their chief.<em>

_The cold here is frightfully numbing, but the people don't seem to mind. Even the youngsters are quite lively despite the below freezing temperatures. They scamper about and play amongst themselves as if the snow and ice hardly existed. They fish, trade, shop, cook, clean and so much more without giving the snow and ice a second thought. I find it truly amazing, but I suppose the other merchants don't. They are wary of the people here and the people are wary of us. Only Hakoda, their chief, has even bothered to give us a chance._

_Despite what the other merchants say, I like Hakoda. I don't find him particularly intimidating or rude. He is just what all Water Tribesmen were said to be: kind, brave, friendly and he shows good judgment. He doesn't seem any different than the rest of us, but the others would have me believe he is a peasant whose simple mind is too stupid to comprehend the greatness of our nation. Since I can't very well tell this to the others, I shall write it. I rather like him. He's a sensible man who's doing what needs to be done to protect his family in this time of hardship and war._

_His wife, Kya, is a wonderful woman who makes wonderful stewed sea prunes and rather reminds me of my wife. She seems to know just how to keep her kids in check, something Mei-Li and I have trouble doing with our Yuan. I have no doubt that the people here seem to look up to her and admire her. I've spent a lot of time talking to her and Hakoda, and I must confess I am quite surprised that they believe we are entering dark times. The war has gone on for so long, I thought only people like me, who believe the Avatar will never return, had adopted this pessimistic attitude. But in spite of clinging firmly to their theory that the Avatar will come back, they believe we are entering dark times. I can't say I can blame them, because it certainly seems that way. They fear for their children, they say, and with good reason too. Not only are they growing up in such a war torn world, but their little daughter is in danger._

_She's a small bundle of energy, really. I find it hard to believe we humans are capable of that much energy, but honestly, the little girl is so energetic, just watching her tires me out. Her brother is no different. He's so much like Yuan I often wish my son was here. They would have been great friends. It's such a shame our glorious nation is instilling such falsehoods into the minds of our people. The people of the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom are no different than us Fire Nation folk. Neither were the Air Nomads. They didn't deserve to die the way they did, but perhaps there is still hope for us all. Perhaps, as some believe, the Avatar will return and save the world._

"Huang, shouldn't we be getting ready soon?" Lin asked, poking his head into the room. Huang just surveyed his shorter companion before replying.

"We have plenty of time to get ready."

He noticed Lin's blue eyes light up with fascination when he saw the book Huang held. "What book is that? Where'd you even get it? I don't remember stopping anywhere to buy a book."

Huang smiled. "It's a journal from an old…_friend_ of mine. The Captain of the Southern Raiders gave it to me," he said, knowing full well it was a lie. He had taken it from among a shelf of old books in the Captain's private study and smuggled it off the ship.

"I take it that you find it very interesting?" Lin said.

Huang grinned. "Of course." And as Lin left the room, he flipped to the next entry and began reading.

_It has been such a long time since my last entry and so much has changed. I must regretfully write that I am no longer a merchant, but now I am, or rather was, a Southern Raider, drafted three years ago. It was not a job I liked but declining the offer was considered treasonous and as I have a family to support, I took it. If I hadn't Mei-Li and Yuan (who happens to be a bright young boy of eight now), would probably be left on the streets to die. In all honesty, I must admit I am ashamed of myself. I've done some things I'm not proud of. I've helped these thugs take more prisoners than I could possibly count and I've been made to watch as they mercilessly killed people. Sometimes, at night, I can still hear the tortured screams of the victims who were so unjustly made to suffer. At times like these, I wish the Avatar would reappear and save us. I wish this whole war nonsense would just fade away and things would go back to the way they were. The four nations were fine just being four but now our glorious (is that even an appropriate term anymore?) nation has fallen so low, I shudder to think I even had a part in it and was helping these thugs do what I didn't want to do. Perhaps now that I've quit, the Southern Raiders won't bother with me anymore._

_My hand shakes as I write this, but someone must know the truth. They say the pen is mightier than the sword, so I shall write this. Since I was drafted, the Southern Raiders have taken many benders captive and killed many others. They even went as far as to suggest we purge our nation of weaklings. I was terrified for Yuan, so I sent him to the only people I could turn to, the only people in the entire world who showed me hospitality when I tried to prove I wasn't an evil firebender like the rest of my kind were thought to be. He spent a month or so with Hakoda and his family in the Southern Water Tribe and when this craze had died down, he came back to the Fire Nation. I've kept my personal life a secret from most of the Raiders. They don't know about Mei-Li or Yuan and I'd like to keep it that way. Shortly after this, the Raiders received orders to eliminate waterbenders in the Water Tribes. In three days time, the fleet of ships was ready and headed for the Southern Water Tribe. By that time, I had washed my hands of the whole affair; I had quit. I knew how this would how end and I hadn't wanted to see it. But now, now (weeks later) that most of the waterbenders from the Southern Water Tribe have been rounded up, I can't help but wonder if I did the right thing. I, who knew about the raids, simply quit and watched it all happen. Should I have told Hakoda about them? If I had, the Raiders would have killed me and if they had somehow found out about Mei-Li and Yuan they'd have killed them too or banished them. Or did I do the right thing by keeping quiet about it? I believe I may have just inadvertently helped with the elimination of the Southern waterbenders. But I know something that the Raiders do not. There is one waterbender who I know they haven't taken, for I haven't seen her among the prisoners paraded through the capital. They don't have Katara yet and I shall see to it that it stays this way. I may not have been able to remedy what the Raiders have already done, but I shall do this much, because I owe Hakoda, my nation, and the world this much. The Fire Nation already wiped out the Air Nomads, and if they wipe out the waterbenders in the North Pole as well, they'll target Earthbenders next. Maybe it isn't my place to attempt to remedy the wrongs of my nation, but I shall do it anyway or die trying. I can only hope if my family ever reads this they understand what I have done._

* * *

><p>"Toph," Katara choked out. "I can't breathe in this thing."<p>

"Welcome to my world," the blind earthbender muttered, as she pulled the sash tighter.

"Toph," Katara protested. "Seriously, I can't breathe in this dress."

"You're going to the Earth King's party, Sugar Queen, not a restaurant. So shut it and just wear the dress."

"I am not going to the party in this," Katara said resolutely, squirming as Toph fiddled with her dress. "Why are you helping me anyway?"

"Because you and Suki couldn't dress yourself in these fancy clothes if your lives depended on it. Mai and I know how. And besides, your brother thinks those waterbenders he told us about might come after you so he wants you to be unrecognizable. "

"But why I can't I wear something else? It's not like people know who we are and I'm not sure I'm going to make it through the evening in this thing."

"Katara, if you don't stop squirming I'll call Aang to come in here and hold you down while I tie this stupid sash properly."

Toph felt her stiffen and grinned. She loved knowing she could do that.

"Don't you dare," the waterbender hissed. "Or I'll make sure you spend the rest of the week going to parties that you hate."

"Fine," Toph huffed. "But you can't go to the palace dressed like you just got out of bed."

"I know, but I'm not wearing this thing, either. I'll probably pass out from lack of air."

"Now you know why I chose to leave my life behind. I had to wear stupid dresses like this almost every day."

"I'll just wear that dress we wore to the party for his bear. I know I have it here somewhere," she said, rummaging through her closet. When she finally found it, she disappeared and reappeared a few minutes later wearing the dress.

"This is so much more comfortable," she said.

Toph just rolled her eyes and wordlessly helped her with her hair. Katara always marveled at how Toph was able to do that considering she was blind. It wasn't an easy feat to style hair, but Toph made it look effortless. Katara always thought she had servants to help her, but Toph admitted she would often play with her hair just for the heck of it sometimes when she was little. She'd practiced styling it on days when her parents wouldn't let her go out and eventually styling her hair became second nature to her as it did to most other women in high society.

By the time everyone was ready to leave, the sun was slowly setting and all traffic in Ba Sing Se was headed to the Earth King's Palace. Toph sighed as she followed the others into the hall were the celebration was being held. She hated stuff like this. The noise, the crowds, the smells were all just a bit too much for her. She much rather preferred staying at home and avoiding such parties, but their attendance was more or less obligatory now.

Sokka let out a low whistle as he surveyed the area. The entire palace was decorated with paper lanterns and candles and every single table was adorned with a vase of exotic flowers. Sokka didn't know which was more exotic; the flowers on the tables, or the ones the girls wore on their headdresses. He chuckled to himself. Those flowers were nice, he admitted, but the one Suki wore was prettier.

"Can we leave now?" Mai muttered to Zuko. The young Firelord just shook with silent laughter as they followed the others.

"I don't see any waterbenders," Sokka whispered to Katara. "So they're probably in disguise. Be careful, Katara."

"I will be and if you're so concerned, don't call me Katara," she smiled, before walking away to join Aang and Toph.

"So, what now?" Aang wondered, staring at all the people milling about. He didn't really feel like socializing.

Toph shrugged. "You think there's a courtyard here somewhere? Maybe I can do some earthbending."

"And get in trouble with the Earth King?" Katara laughed. "Go ahead if you want to get in trouble that badly."

"Katara has a point," Aang admitted, while Katara shushed him. "What?" he asked, turning towards her.

"Don't call me Katara. Sokka thinks those waterbenders might be here so he wants me to be careful. Honestly, I don't think changing my name and not being around you guys will make much of a difference, but I'll humor him and go along with it."

Toph burst out laughing and Aang just smiled. He also didn't think just introducing herself as someone else would make much of a difference, but what could possibly happen at the Earth King's ball with so many guards around?

"I'll see you guys later," the waterbender said as she moved away to mingle with the other guests. There were so many people, she didn't even bother to get their names straight or attempt getting to know them. As most of the other young women did, Katara just moved about smiling and introducing herself as Kwa Mai whenever anyone introduced themselves to her, hoping against hope that no one recognized her.

"Oh, hello," She heard someone say and smiling politely to her previous acquaintance she turned to face another middle aged woman. "Are you new here? I don't believe I've seen you at the Earth King's ball before."

"Oh, I'm not new," Katara replied. "I just haven't come here in a while."

"I'm glad you could make it this time," the woman beamed. "I'm Ming."

"Kwa Mai," Katara replied.

"Haven't you already tried that?" Someone whispered to her and Katara jumped. Seeing a handsome man behind her, Ming bowed politely and left.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Katara said, evenly. The man just smiled.

He was young, perhaps in his early or late twenties. He was tall, well built and handsome, but his piercing blue eyes gave Katara a strange feeling. His dark green robe and his eerie smile reminded her of the Dai Li agents that the Earth King still kept. Of course, the current ones had been chosen after the war had ended and had undergone rigorous testing to ensure that they wouldn't repeat the mistakes of their predecessors.

"May I have a word with you?" he asked, beckoning for her to follow.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it here," she said, coolly. From behind, she felt two hands gently steer her forward and looked over her shoulder to see another, shorter man smiling at her.

"It's best if we have this discussion outside."

Before Katara could protest, she was led to another room and the doors were shut.

"This was Long Feng's study," she noted. "Why am I here?"

The taller of the two men merely sat down in Long Feng's chair behind his desk and sighed comfortably. "If I were you, I'd pick a different name, Katara."

"How did you know who I was?"

"My friends and I know lots of things about you and your brother, Sokka. The Dai Li have files about you." He said, withdrawing several papers from Long Feng's desk and tossing them carelessly on to the desk. "Did you really think by changing your name you could evade us?"

"Whatever you want me to do," she said, icily. "I won't do it. I don't know who you two are, but I've heard about you and your group of rogue waterbenders."

"We are waterbenders," he consented. "But not rogue waterbenders."

"Doesn't make a difference to me. I'm still not doing whatever it is."

"That's too bad," the taller one said as she began walking away. "It'd be a shame if anything happened to your father."

Katara whirled around to face them, the color draining from her face. "What do you mean? What did you do to my dad?"

"Nothing yet, but I can't promise I won't. After all, he was supposed to tell you about our mission."

"What mission? Uniting the two Water Tribes is not a mission; it won't happen. The two tribes separated for a reason."

"We can argue this on the journey back. Are you coming?"

Katara nodded, miserably. She didn't think she had a choice at this point, not if they were using her father to get her to comply.

"Good, then we can leave for the South Pole soon. Lin, take her back to the docks. We'll board the next ship out of here. I have some last minute things I want to take care of before we leave."

"Alright, but be careful. You never know with these earthbenders," he said, as he dragged Katara behind him, grumbling about how stubborn she was. She smiled to herself She had said she would come, but she hadn't promised to make it easy for them.

While Lin escorted Katara to the docks, Huang had returned to the party, spotted Toph and quickly drew her aside.

"Miss Bei Fong, may I have a word with you?"

Toph shrugged and followed him through the crowd to some secluded part of the palace. By the time she realized where they were, it was too late. The man had already shut the door to Long Feng's old study and was regarding Toph calmly.

"I don't know who you are, but don't try anything funny. I'm not as helpless as I look." Toph said.

"Oh, I know. That's why I came here to ask the world's greatest earthbender something. I need your help."

"With what?" Toph snorted. "I don't even know you."

"True," the man consented and Toph could feel him shift his position ever so slightly. "But I have something you want."

"What?"

"If you help me, I may be able to help you see again."

If Toph was ever caught off guard, now was the moment. "You could help me see? How?"

She felt the man shrug. "Technically, Katara could with what I give her, but that depends on whether or not you agree to help us. If you do, I'll give you what I promised."

"The ability to see?"

"Yes, along with Katara."

"Katara?" Toph repeated, baffled. "What are you…?" She stopped when she realized she hadn't been able to detect Katara's vibrations for the latter part of the evening.

"So, what do you think, Toph?"

"You're a waterbender, right?" She asked, assuming the man that stood before her was one of the men Arnook had written about in his letter.

"That's correct."

"Then how am I supposed to help you. In case you haven't noticed, I'm an earthbender."

"Oh, I'm aware of that," the man replied. "But no matter. Will you help us?"

"What if I don't?" She challenged.

"Something tells me you will."

"I don't know you and I'm not going to help you until I know who you are and what you need help with," Toph said. "Give me one good reason why I should."

"Because I have Katara and as much as I hate using people as bait, I will not hesitate to use her to make you help us."

"Look, I don't know what type of person you think I am, but let me make this very clear to you. If you think I'm desperate enough or selfish enough to chose being able to see over Katara or any of my friends, then you've got another thing coming."

"But my friends and I need your help, Toph and we will get it one way or another.

"But if you need Katara too, what would you gain by hurting her?" Toph demanded. "That's just stupid."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. We have our reasons. But, I'll tell you what. You think about my offer and when you're ready, just let us know."

"But how am I supposed to find you when if I change my mind?" She asked, knowing the likelihood was slim.

She sensed a change in his vibrations indicating that he was smiling. "Oh, we'll find you."

"Fine," she said, evenly. "But don't you dare try anything. If Katara doesn't beat you up, then I will the next time we meet and if there's anything left of you, I can't promise Aang won't do the same."

* * *

><p>When Katara stepped off the boat, three days later, she was surprised to discover that the boat had docked in a secluded port in the Southern Water Tribe and that it was nighttime. The sky was resplendent with stars, but much to her surprise, the moon wasn't out. It was only then she remembered Sokka telling the others that the lunar eclipse was actually a couple of days after the Earth King's celebration. Naturally, that meant neither she nor the two men, Huang and Lin, could waterbend. She didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing but she supposed it was a good thing, because they couldn't actually do anything to her or her father. But they seemed to have thought of that. As soon as they entered the house (which had taken a while because they had to chip away at the ice that was blocking the front door) their swords, which up until now Katara hadn't seen, were drawn and ready. Hakoda, who had been trapped in their miserable excuse for a house couldn't exactly say he was happy to see them again, but he was glad Katara was okay.<p>

"Well, Hakoda," Huang said, tightening his grip on Katara as if she would run away. "Don't you have something to tell her?"

The Chief rolled his eyes. He barely knew what they wanted him to tell her, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good. He knew this was just a ruse, a trap to get Katara to teach them some waterbending technique that they probably couldn't learn and he knew he wasn't going to help them.

"All I have to say is that this is a trap," he said, looking at his daughter. "The only reason they brought you here is because they need you to teach them something and they probably told you some made up story about me so you'd come."

The two men glared at him and he smiled. Let them try something now, he thought. Even if they did, Katara could always use her healing abilities if the two hurt either of them.

"Fool," Lin hissed, pointing the tip of his sword at Hakoda. "There's a lunar eclipse; your daughter can't waterbend. What's stopping me from running this through you right now?"

"Don't," Katara cried, wriggling out of Huang's grasp and inserting herself between her father and Lin and wincing in pain as she felt the tip of the sword graze her side. Without warning, she felt the cold metal against her skin and her world exploded in darkness as she was thrust aside. Hakoda knew that there was little chance the two would let him get anywhere near Katara to help, but he tried anyway. But it wasn't long before he felt the cold metal of the sword making contact with his skin and before the ground rose up to meet him and he too fell beside Katara. And just like that, the two waterbenders left, leaving father and daughter to lie on the crimson stained floor with nothing but the icy walls of the house as testament to their fall.

* * *

><p><em>I hope it wasn't too confusing. Thanks for all the reviews I've gotten so far. You're all amazing! :)<em>

_~ Cassidy Alice_


	9. Confessions

_A/N: I know it's been a while since I updated this, but I've been really busy lately with all sorts of things and it took me forever and a day to finish working on this. With all the new Korra info and everything from The Promise, all the stuff in this story could probably never happen (not that there was much chance of it happening anyway ^^), so I guess this is just pure speculative fiction now (or maybe a slight AU, I don't really know). In any case, I hope this chapter is okay. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything. _:(

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><p><strong>Chapter VIII: Confessions<strong>

Hakoda awoke to the strangest sound he'd ever heard and sat up, gritting his teeth against the resurgence of pain. His room was mostly dark except for a few candles and it felt strangely empty. Pushing himself out of bed and not stopping to wonder how he had gotten back home, he made his way to the kitchen, trying to ignore the growling of his empty stomach. He hadn't the faintest idea where Katara was, but as he passed several closed doors on his way to the kitchen, he assumed she was in her room.

The Chief wasn't expecting to find anyone else in the house, as Pakku had already left to start his class and Kanna was out doing her daily errands, but his surprise was readily apparent when he found Sokka, Suki, and Toph in the kitchen looking rather bored.

"Sokka? I didn't know you were here."

His son gave a small smile. "We came last night. We were at the Earth King's party when Toph and Katara just disappeared. Toph came back later and told us this crazy story about some waterbenders taking Katara to meet you or something like that, so we came here."

"How? It's not an overnight journey."

"Yeah, but we have a flying sky bison, Dad. Appa's really fast when he wants to be. We made it here in three days despite that storm we ran…uh, flew…into."

Hakoda was about to say something when he heard the same noise again. "Any new pet you forgot to tell me about?" he teased.

Sokka chuckled. "No. It's just Appa. All that flying in the rain may have done a number on him."

"Sky bison get sick?"

"Apparently," Sokka said, as Hakoda took a seat across from him. "So, Dad, what's going on with all these crazy waterbenders?"

"Honestly, I don't know. They've been trying to get the two Water Tribes to unite for a while, but they haven't really done anything about it until now."

"So they've been around for a while, huh? How come I never heard about them?" Sokka demanded.

Hakoda shrugged. "They were never really that big a group and mostly it was just a bunch of the older men who believed that the two tribes should go back to being one. But ever since the Fire Nation attacked the Water Tribes, they've gained more followers, mostly young men and women who think we should be one tribe and have all waterbenders learn the most advanced moves possible so that the other nations don't think they are superior to us."

"So there are members even here?" Suki asked.

Hakoda was thoughtful for a minute before replying. "I suppose so. I don't know anyone who is part of the group, but I'd assume there are people here who agree with their ideas."

"So what happened to you, Chief Hakoda?" Suki wondered.

"That's an even weirder story. I met two waterbenders who had come here from the Earth Kingdom and one day on my way back from the village, I ran into them and they invited me to their house, so I went with them. We were making small talk at first when they started talking about uniting the two Water Tribes and having me or Arnook as chief. And then, they started talking about having Katara and Sokka help them with something or other; I was already so confused, I didn't stop to ask what they meant." Sokka and Suki nodded understandingly and Hakoda continued. "So I told them that Katara and Sokka stay out of their crazy plan, but they claimed that they needed something from them for their mission and that they'd get it one way or another. So they locked me in their house and used me as bait to bring Katara here. When they came back, they asked me if I had something to tell her. It made no sense to me, because earlier they claimed they needed information from her and then they had asked me to tell her something. In any case, I told Katara it was a trap and, well, you all know the rest."

"So in the three days those waterbenders were sailing here with Katara, we were flying after them and you were holed up in their house?" Sokka asked. Hakoda nodded. "Did they at least give you good seal jerky?"

Suki just shook her head and Toph laughed.

"No, Sokka," Hakoda replied. "They didn't even have seal jerky. So, where's Katara? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She's still sleeping," Toph said. "She wanted us to wake her up an hour ago, but Sokka thought we shouldn't."

"Sokka, she just might attack you one of these days," his father said, glancing at his son. "You know how she is."

Sokka snorted. "So I let her sleep in a little bit longer. Big deal. She'll be upset for a while but then she'll admit she enjoyed it."

By the time Katara had gotten up and made her way out of her room, it was late morning and she was surprised to see her father in an animated conversation with Suki, Sokka, Aang and Toph. She wondered how they had gotten there, but stories were quickly exchanged and she was thankful that Toph had managed to alert the others about her disappearance from the party three days ago.

"I'm glad you guys are all okay," Katara said. "Especially you, Dad."

"I've been through worse," Hakoda replied, nonchalantly.

"So, what do we do now?" Katara wondered.

"Hey, we're in the South Pole," Sokka pointed out, stating the obvious. "So as long as we're here, we might make the most of it, right?"

Katara rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Sure, Sokka. Whatever."

"Now that the tribe's been rebuilt, there's so much to see and do," Sokka said.

"I hope for all our sakes you don't go shopping son," Hakoda chuckled. "You'd buy up half the tribe and we'd be broke."

Katara laughed. "Yeah, like that one time Mom took us to the market and you got seven little wooden dolls and broke all of them."

"I did not get dolls," Sokka shot back. "They were wooden warriors and I did not break them."

"Or that one time he got that little spear," Hakoda said. "Didn't you lose it fishing for a whale or something?"

"No," Sokka huffed.

"He lost it fishing for a leopard seal," Katara said, laughing. "And then he was going to use the seal to get a whale."

Sokka scowled as Katara and Hakoda continued exchanging memories. Suki just smiled at the three of them and decided to give them some time alone. Slipping into her borrowed parka and shoving her hands into her mittens, she stepped outside into the frigid arctic air. Outside, the snow was sparkling like diamonds in the light of the sun and the undulating waves glittered like jewels. In the distance, she could faintly hear the calls of a colony of seals and out on the open ocean several boats were patrolling the waters for fish. Ignoring the cold, Suki set off, going wherever her feet would take her and ended up on a deserted ice shelf that jutted out several feet into the ocean. From her vantage point the only the thing she could see was the rolling waves and the horizon where the sky and sea met and seemed to blend into one. She sat on the ice and just watched, thankful that there was plenty of time now to just relax and do nothing. Company would have been nice, but she didn't think anyone would find her in this out of way spot. Much to her surprise, however, Sokka came to join her a few minutes later.

"Suki? What are you doing way out here by yourself?" Sokka wondered, taking a seat beside her.

She gave him a small smile. "Not much. You looked like you were spending some quality time with your family, so I thought I'd leave you guys alone."

"Quality time?" the warrior repeated. "You think having my dad and Katara make fun of me counts as quality time?"

Suki just chuckled. "Well, they are your family."

"Speaking of family," he said. "What about yours? You never talk about them. I'd like to meet them if they're…you know, still around."

Suki sighed and looked down at her hands. "I don't know," She admitted.

"Don't know what?"

"About my family. I mean, Oyaji's told me they're not alive anymore, but I don't know anything about them. Is that weird?"

"That you don't know anything about them?" Sokka asked and Suki nodded. "No, not really. There are lots of people who don't know a thing about their family."

"I've been training to be a Kyoshi warrior since I was eight and I've lived on Kyoshi my whole life, but I don't remember a single thing about what my life was like before I started my training. I've asked Oyaji so many times when I was little, but he always gave me vague answers and whenever I mentioned my mother, he'd get really worried and…" She stopped. "Do you think I should have looked for them? Once I started training, I didn't really bother looking into what might have happened to them. I guess that makes me a bad daughter, doesn't it?"

"I don't think that makes you a bad daughter," Sokka offered. "And if it makes you feel better, I'll help you find out about your parents."

"You will?" Suki asked, surprised. Sokka nodded. "Why?"

"You helped me find my dad at the Boiling Rock, remember? It's the least I could do."

"Thanks," Suki said, giving him a small smile. But deep down, she was just the slightest bit nervous and couldn't help wondering what would happen once she actually found out the truth.

* * *

><p>"Katara, can I ask you something?"<p>

The waterbender looked up from her meal and blinked in surprise. Since Sokka and Suki had left, the others had disbanded. Hakoda had some important work to take care of and Kanna was cooking away in the kitchen. As usual Pakku had gone to teach his waterbending class leaving Toph, Katara, and Aang all alone, but Aang politely excused himself noticing Toph's thoughtful expression and thinking the two girls would want some privacy.

"Yeah?"

"How much can you heal with waterbending?"

"Did you get hurt?" Katara wondered.

"Me? No, of course not. I was just wondering what you can heal with waterbending."

"What do you mean?"

"Can you heal pretty much anything?"

"No. I can heal physical injuries and that's about it. But if you broke a bone or something, I won't be able to heal it completely."

"I didn't break anything," Toph said. "But do you think your healing could restore my eyesight?"

"What gave you that idea?"

"It worked on you, didn't it? Besides, those waterbenders who brought you here told me they could give you something that would help restore my eyesight. Does something like that even exist?"

"I don't know," the waterbender admitted. "There's the spirit oasis water. I mean, it healed Aang after Azula shot him in Ba Sing Se, but I don't know if it could bring back your eyesight."

Toph looked thoughtful. "I wonder if it would work."

Katara shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. Sorry, Toph."

The blind earthbender gave a small smile. "Don't be. It's not that big of a deal. I'll admit, it would be nice to see, but I'm perfectly fine without my eyesight too." Katara chuckled. "So, are you going to tell your dad?"

"About what?" she wondered, blankly.

"Bloodbending," Toph said. "Isn't that why the waterbenders had him captive? I think that's what Sokka told us anyway."

"I'll have to tell him, I guess. I mean, he should know regardless of whether or not the waterbenders had him for that but it's not exactly the easiest thing to talk to him about."

"Probably not, but I'm sure it'll be fine. So, do you have any idea when we're leaving?"

"Don't look at me," Katara said. "I don't know who's in charge of our travel plans. If it's Sokka, we probably won't leave this place for a while. But if it's Aang or Zuko, we'll probably leave soon. They've got places to be."

"Zuko isn't here," Toph pointed out, absentmindedly blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "We kind of split up at the party because he didn't know how long we'd be here and he's got stuff to do."

That would explain why I haven't seen him and Mai, Katara thought.

"If I were you, Sugar Queen, I'd tell your dad soon," Toph said suddenly, breaking Katara from her thoughts.

"Tell me what?" Hakoda demanded, hearing his name upon entering the room again. Toph just excused herself and Katara fidgeted in her seat.

"It's complicated," the waterbender admitted.

"I've got time," was all Hakoda said before inviting her to join him on a walk. The two slipped into their parkas and headed out into the wintery air.

Outside, it was incredibly cold and bright but both father and daughter were well used to the frigid conditions of the South Pole. The sun was shining brightly overhead and the snow was sparkling in the light as they set off towards the docks. The sound of the penguin colonies echoed somewhere in the distance and Katara swore she heard several little kids talking about penguin sledding. She smiled at their wistful expressions as their parents led them away to begin chores. In the village, some of the men had assembled a small hunting expedition and a small polar bear was trotting after them as they headed out into the distance. Hakoda and Katara didn't speak much for the first few minutes; Katara was still trying to think about how she would explain everything to her father and Hakoda was too busy pondering what on earth was making his daughter appear so nervous. But he knew she'd tell him when she was ready, so he kept quiet and just enjoyed the cold, bracing ocean air. The waves were pounding against the frozen banks and in the distance a few ships were listlessly patrolling the waters for fish, but without the help of the wind current, they looked like they were hardly moving at all. The chief just kept his gaze on the boats until Katara suddenly broke the silence.

"Did you ever kill anyone during the War, Dad?"

Hakoda sighed. "No, though I'm sure I must have injured quite a few people. Our weapons weren't strong enough to fatally wound anyone, I suppose. Most of the people we fought could easily destroy our spears and since they were mostly firebenders, we couldn't get close enough to them to use our swords without being burned. Why do you ask?"

Katara shrugged. "I was just wondering. Have you ever done something you regret?"

"Yes. Everyone has, I suppose," Hakoda answered, his gaze still on the boats out on the ocean. "Why do you ask? Have you…"

"Done something I regret?" Katara asked, following his gaze. She nodded. "When we were in the Fire Nation, shortly before the invasion, Sokka and I met an old woman from our tribe. She was a waterbender."

"Sounds like it must have been a pleasant experience."

Katara frowned. "Hardly. At first, I really liked her because she reminded me so much of Gran. She seemed so nice and she taught me some things I didn't know, but…"

"But?" Her father gently prodded.

"I was wrong," Katara finished, simply. "Turned out she had been the one responsible for all the disappearances of locals. And I only figured it out after it was too late, when she decided to show me her most advanced move."

"That doesn't sound so bad, Katara."

"I'm a bloodbender," Katara said, unable to meet his gaze. "She taught me bloodbending. She forced me to use it; if I hadn't, Aang would have died."

"What's bloodbending?"

"Advanced waterbending, basically," his daughter explained. "But it can only be done during a full moon, when my waterbending is at its strongest."

"So why is it so bad?" Hakoda asked, somewhat confused

"I can control people with it. I can make them do anything I want, by controlling the fluids inside a person. When Hama originally showed me the technique, I didn't want to use it. But then Aang and Sokka came to stop her and she used it on them. If I hadn't learned it, Sokka would have killed Aang, all because Hama was controlling them. That's apparently why those waterbenders wanted me to teach them. But, I can't."

"I'm not quite sure I understand," Hakoda admitted. "It sounds like bloodbending is just like other types of bending; it seems like it would be just as helpful and just as destructive."

"But it's nothing like the other types of bending," Katara protested. "I can kill someone with it, Dad."

"Technically, you could do the same with waterbending too."

"I guess, but I hate being a bloodbender. You don't know what it's like. Full moons are torture. Lately, it hasn't been as bad as it used to be, but it's still not great."

"Oh. So, why are you telling me this?" Hakoda wondered. If there was one thing he had learned over the years, it was the Katara had a tendency to keep certain things to herself.

"I just thought you should know," she said. "In case those waterbenders come back..."

"They're probably long gone."

"Oh."

"There's more, isn't there?" Hakoda asked, looking at Katara. She wouldn't meet his gaze.

She nodded and briefly met his gaze. With him, Katara had never been an open book but Hakoda could easily read her in spite of that. Her eyes held that same look of fear Kya's once used to hold whenever she was overly worried about something. Kya would usually tell him what was wrong but Katara rarely ever did; she had a habit of keeping certain things hidden until she had to spill. But, in spite of that, Hakoda could tell what his daughter was thinking. She didn't seem too worried about the waterbenders at all. In fact, if Hakoda had interpreted everything properly, which he was sure he had, she seemed almost afraid of his reaction.

"You were worried that I was going to be upset with you, weren't you?" He asked.

"How did…?" She began, but her father just laughed.

"You have your mother's eyes," he said, smiling affectionately at her. "They'd light up the same way whenever she was worried about you or Sokka."

She simply nodded.

"And just in case you're wondering," Hakoda said. "I'm not upset. I don't fully understand bloodbending and I don't think I ever will, but I know your mother and I have taught you and Sokka well enough that you'd never misuse it."

"That's a lot of faith to put in me, Dad."

Hakoda shrugged. "Maybe it is, but I know you, Katara. I don't think you're capable of actually killing someone with bloodbending."

"I threatened to kill Zuko when he first joined our group," she admitted, not really sure why she was telling her father this.

"Are you sure it wasn't just because of Aang?"

"No," the waterbender replied, almost too hastily. "It had nothing to do with Aang."

Hakoda just chuckled. "Speaking of the Avatar, what exactly is your relationship with him?"

Katara flushed. "What do you mean?"

"Isn't there something you want to tell me?" He teased.

"Isn't it obvious? Sokka said it was."

"Well, yes, but I thought maybe you'd want to tell me."

"I didn't think I'd need to," she admitted. "I assumed you kind of already knew."

"I think it's a little hard not to, because people talk a lot about the two of you," he replied, chuckling.

"So, do you approve?"

"Do you need my approval?"

"I guess not, but it'd be nice to have it all the same."

Again, he chuckled. "And if I said no, would that change anything?"

"Not at all," she replied, grinning.

"Exactly. At any rate, after you've helped save the balance of the world, I really don't think I can keep you from doing what you want; you've faced tougher challenges than me, I guess, so disobeying me would be rather easy for you, wouldn't it?"

Katara smiled. "Yeah, it would. But still, I'd like it if you approved."

"Well then, I approve. Anything to get those nosy mothers with eligible sons off my back," Hakoda laughed.

Katara just gave him a hug. "You're the best dad in the world."

"I try," the Chief said, grinning. "I don't know about you, but I'm frozen from standing still. Let's go back home. I don't know why, but I could do with some seal jerky and I think I've kept you away from Aang long enough."

Katara blushed. "You're going to be just as bad as Sokka, aren't you, Dad?"

"All part of my job, Katara."

Katara just laughed and followed him home.

* * *

><p>Lin decided he hated ships. They were small, crowded, and made him seasick. He couldn't stand the way the wooden vessel rolled on the waves. It was like a fragile toy; he was afraid it was going to crack. Sighing, he steadied himself on the deck of the ship as it made its way to the Fire Nation. There were lots of things he was afraid of, he realized. Huang's plans and the state of his mind were just two of them. Ever since they had left the Southern Water Tribe, the night after the lunar eclipse, Huang hadn't really paused to tell him what was going on. Apparently, there was someone Huang absolutely had to see, and in spite of asking his friend who it was, Lin still had no idea. He'd known Huang since they were both little boys, but time had done nothing to erase his irritation regarding Huang's secrecy. He didn't really see the need for the man to be so secretive; they were partners after all. But Huang had promised him that his plans (Lin wasn't even really sure they could be called that at this point) were logical and made perfect sense. Lin hoped so, because he saw no need for them to keep running from one end of the world to the other. At the very least, he thought Huang should have planned things better because running from the Earth Kingdom to the South Pole to the Fire Nation was rather time consuming.<p>

"I see you made it back from your walk in one piece," Huang noted as his friend ducked into the cabin.

Lin nodded. "Yeah, but if we don't reach land soon, I think I'll go insane."

"Relax. We'll reach land in no time. There's this nice little village I need to stop at."

"Do they have an inn?"

"Of course. It's the innkeeper I need to meet."

"What could possibly be so interesting about an innkeeper?" Lin demanded.

Huang grinned, the light of a nearby candle reflected eerily in his ice blue irises. Lin suddenly felt his skin crawl. "She happens to be a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe and she's got something we need."

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><p><em>I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. Not really sure why I decided to explore Suki's past, but I've always found her character interesting. Out of everyone in their little group, she's the only one who's never mentioned anything about her parents, so I took the liberty of inventing something up about her past. It's probably going to be completely innacurate, but that what fanfiction is for, right? <em>:D _As always, thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. You're all wonderful! ^-^_

_~ Cassidy Alice_


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